Just a Moment
by catchmeinwonderland
Summary: One-shots from the Storming Sky universe. You do not have to have read those stories to understand these one-shots, but it would definitely help! Danielle is the adopted daughter of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. They saved her when she was five years old after a newborn killed her mother. Every day is a new adventure, especially when you're a human living with seven vampires.
1. A Mother's Lullaby

**Summary:** On Danielle's first night in the Cullen house, she finds she is having trouble sleeping.

* * *

A MOTHER'S LULLABY

My room was too big. I wasn't used to having a room that was this big, and the walls were the wrong color. They were the same blue as the room at the Police station. I didn't like them.

I wanted my Mommy. The man who brought me home with him said she was in the sky now, but I wanted her here. If she were here, she could sing me to sleep. If she were here, I would feel safe.

"Danielle?" A voice whispered from the door. It was the woman from yesterday. She was supposed to be my new mommy now. I burrowed under the covers and tried to pretend I was asleep, just like I did when Daddy came home. I didn't want to cause any trouble.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" The woman asked, coming further into the room. "I know you're not asleep, love bug." _Lovebug._ I liked that name.

"I'm sorry," I whispered from under the covers. The woman chuckled.

"There's no reason to be sorry," she said. "Do you know why you're having trouble sleeping?" She asked. I shook my head, and I lied. They spent a lot of time on this room for me. I didn't want to tell them they messed up.

"Are you too hot or too cold?" The woman offered. I shook my head again. That wasn't it.

"What's your name again?" I asked her softly. My voice sounded funny, and the woman was surprised. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to talk.

"My name is Esme, sweetie," she smiled. "How did your mommy used to help you fall asleep?" She asked. I missed my mommy.

"She used to rub my back and sing me a song," I told her. "I miss my mommy," I said out loud. Esme nodded.

"I know you do. Can I tell you a secret?" I nodded. Esme was full of questions. "I miss my mommy too. She's with your mommy in the sky," Esme explained.

"Did she get hurt?" I asked. Esme shook her head.

"Not like your mommy," Esme explained. "She just got old and lived her life. She lived for a very long time. It doesn't mean I don't miss her, though."

"I wish my mommy lived for a long time," I mumbled. Esme began rubbing my back.

"What kind of songs did your mommy sing to you?" She asked.

"I can't remember," I said, frustrated.

"Do you want to try singing them, and maybe I'll recognize one of them?" Esme offered. I nodded.

I began singing the song that was my favorite. It was easy to remember and was from one of my favorite movies.

"I love that song," Esme smiled. "It's from _Anastasia_ , right?" I nodded.

"Do you like that movie?" Esme asked. I nodded again.

"Maybe Alice can get it for us tomorrow, would you like that?"

"Who is Alice?" I asked again, a little embarrassed I couldn't remember anyone. Esme had a big family.

"Alice is my younger daughter. She's the one with the short, dark hair," Esme explained. "She helped pick out your PJs, remember?"

"Oh yeah," I smiled. I liked Alice.

"Do you mind if I sing to you? It might help you to fall back asleep," Esme whispered. She was really good at rubbing backs. If she was good at that, she was probably good at singing too. She seemed like she could be a really good mommy. I nodded and scooted closer to her.

"Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember…" Esme began and kept singing.

I was right – I didn't make it to the end of the song.


	2. A New Home

**Summary:** Danielle meets her new siblings for the first time. Danielle is five years old, and the Cullens are living outside Chicago.

A NEW HOME

"Are you excited?" The woman from the police station squeezed my hand. "I've heard Dr. Cullen and his wife have a very big house," she smiled. "I think you're going to enjoy your new home."

I didn't answer her. I didn't want to go to a new home, I wanted to go to my home.

"Dr. Cullen is very excited to have you visit. He has a lot of children already that he has adopted. They're excited to meet you too. Did Dr. Cullen show you the picture of your new jammies that his daughter picked out for you?" I nodded. I liked them. They had all of my favorite princesses on them.

A car pulled up to where I was waiting and Dr. Cullen got out. He gave us a soft smile.

"Are you still feeling okay, sweetie?" He asked me, bending down so he was at my level. He had been asking me that all night. I think he was afraid I hurt myself in the car accident, but I didn't.

"I think she'll be fine once she gets warmed up," the lady explained. Dr. Cullen nodded.

"Why don't you go sit in the car, Danielle?" Dr. Cullen suggested. "I have to talk to Mrs. Gere for a moment, and I'll be right there, I promise."

I looked up at Dr. Cullen with wide eyes. I didn't want to get in the car. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

"You know what," the lady said. "I'll stop by tomorrow morning with the paperwork. Just get her home and in bed, that's the important thing," she smiled. "You're such a brave little girl," she told me. "Dr. Cullen is going to take you home with him tonight. If you like it there, you can stay longer, okay?" I nodded. She smiled again and stood up.

"Are you afraid to get in the car, little one?" Dr. Cullen asked when I still didn't move into the car. I looked down at my feet. I didn't want to be a problem, but I didn't want to get in the car.

"How about I sit with you for a few minutes, so you can get used to the feel and smell? Then, I'll drive slowly so that you don't get scared, and if you do get scared, you can tell me and I'll pull over, okay?" I took a deep breath, just like my mommy told me to do when I got scared, and nodded. I had to be brave now, just like Mrs. Gere said. Dr. Cullen held out his hand. I took it. It was cold, but it felt good. I felt safe with Dr. Cullen.

We climbed into the car together and he sat next to me, just like he said he would. We sat there for a few moments before Dr. Cullen asked if he could turn the car back on. I nodded.

Eventually, I felt okay enough that Dr. Cullen started driving. I didn't like how far away he was. I felt better when he was in the back seat with me. I had a feeling he knew that because he kept trying to talk to me. He asked me a lot of the same questions as he did when we were at the police station, but I didn't mind. I liked the noise.

We only had to pull over three times, and each time, Dr. Cullen moved into the back seat with me until I was ready to go again. He could always tell when I was too scared, I never had to tell him. He would sit there and hold my hand until I felt better.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Dr. Cullen asked me. I looked up at the big house with all the lights, and I could see shadows of people moving around inside. There were so many of them.

"Your new brothers and sisters are inside," he smiled. "They're very excited to meet you. Do you want to know their names?" I nodded.

"Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett are my oldest. You will have Rosalie wrapped around your finger in seconds and you will never be bored with Emmett around. Jasper is Rosalie's twin, and he is one of the smartest people you will ever meet," Dr. Cullen paused and then continued. "Alice and Edward are my youngest. Alice has been eager to meet you ever since I texted my wife about adopting you. She's the one who picked out your pyjamas, do you remember the picture I showed you?" I smiled. I was excited about the jammies. Dr. Cullen smiled back. "Edward is very musical, and he can play any song you ever want on the piano. All you have to do is ask. He might even write you a song, he wrote one for my wife. Do you remember Esme? She came to visit you tonight," Dr. Cullen asked. I tried to remember, but there were so many different people around that kept asking me questions, I couldn't remember which one was his wife.

"Here," Dr. Cullen pulled a picture out of his wallet. It was a family picture with many faces. I reached out to trace them all with my finger. I pointed to one face on the far right.

"That's Esme, excellent job!" Dr. Cullen smiled. "Who do you think Emmett is?" He asked. I pointed to the boy with the blonde hair. This was a fun game. Dr. Cullen chuckled.

"That's actually Jasper, love," he smiled and moved my finger to a much larger, darker haired boy. "That's my Emmett. Who do you think is standing beside him?" I looked at the tall blonde woman beside him. It was the Rose girl.

"Rose?" I whispered. It was one of the first things I said all night. Dr. Cullen looked shocked that I actually spoke out loud.

"That's right. Her full name is Rosalie, but she wouldn't mind it if you called her Rose. We all do, sometimes," he smiled. "Do you think you're ready to go inside now?" He asked. I nodded. I felt much better.

"Do you want to walk, or do you want me to carry you?" Dr. Cullen asked. I moved closer to him inside of the car. I liked being near him.

"Carry you it is," he smiled and poked my nose. I giggled a little, which made him smile even wider.

He grabbed his bag from the car and then picked me up. We walked together inside, and as we got closer I held on tighter to his shirt. I could hear a lot of talking inside, so I buried my face in Dr. Cullen's shoulder. I thought I heard him whisper something, but I couldn't hear what it was.

Dr. Cullen opened the door to reveal a beautiful home. Like he said, everyone was waiting for us inside. Didn't he give his children bedtimes? I knew it was way past mine.

"Hello Danielle," one woman came closer. It was Esme, from the picture. "We're so excited to finally meet you. Carlisle has been telling us all about you." I smiled. She was very nice.

"Do you want me to put you down so you can see better?" Dr. Cullen asked. I nodded. I wanted to play that game again.

"Do you know who Edward is?" Dr. Cullen asked when he put me on the ground. I looked at all of the different faces again. They looked different from the picture, and I couldn't remember who was Jasper or who was Emmett. "Why don't you go stand next to who you think Edward is," Dr. Cullen encouraged. I stumbled my way over to a boy with red-hair. He looked younger than the other two. The boy smiled and gave me a high-five.

"It's nice to meet you, Danielle," he said. "Are you tired?" He asked. I nodded. I was very tired. I wanted to try on my new jammies. Edward chuckled, but I didn't know why.

"Let's get you to bed then, sweetheart. You can meet the rest of the family in the morning," Dr. Cullen said, coming over and taking my hand. "Well, later in the morning," he added.

The family followed us as we went to my new room, and I felt like I was a princess on parade. Dr. Cullen didn't let go of my hand, even when I tripped going up the stairs. He helped pull me back to my feet and told me I really needed to get some sleep.

I got into my new jammies without anyone's help and went potty before climbing into my new bed. It was a huge big girl bed, and the sheets had puppies on them. Once I climbed into bed, a lot of people started saying goodnight and leaving. Dr. Cullen and his wife were the only two people left.

"We're going to let you sleep now, okay love?" Dr. Cullen asked. I shook my head. I wanted him to stay. I didn't want to be alone. I felt myself starting to cry.

"Oh, don't cry sweetie," Dr. Cullen's wife said, rubbing my leg under the sheets. Dr. Cullen pulled me into his arms, even though they had already tucked me in.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep, how about that?" He offered. I nodded. That would be okay.

"And if you wake up and you need us, we will be right here," Mrs. Cullen promised. I nodded again. I wanted them to stay with me all night because I felt safer with them, but they were adults. My mommy always used to tell me that adults had things to do at night, which is why she couldn't sleep with me. I shouldn't make problems with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen by making them sleep with me.

"Sweet dreams, my love," Dr. Cullen said and kissed me on the forehead. I think he really wanted to be my daddy. He was already treating me like his daughter.

"Good night, Danielle," Mrs. Cullen smiled. "Please come get us if you need anything."

"Good night," I whispered, and let my eyes fall. I was so tired, it didn't take long for me to finally enter dreamland.

 **A/N: Send me your suggestions! Also, the one-shots are not going to go in chronological order, so I'll try and remember to put Danielle's age at the tip in the summaries so you have an idea of where we are in the timeline. Thank you all for your support!**


	3. Leaving on a Jet Plane

**Summary:** Danielle's first move with the Cullens from Chicago to Portland. Danielle is six years old.

* * *

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

"Where are we going again?" I asked Emmett as he put another box in the truck. He just chuckled.

"Where do you think we're going, squirt?" Emmett asked. "I'll give you a hint – it starts with a P."

"Paris!" I smiled. Alice always talking about Paris. Emmett laughed even harder and messed up my hair.

"Not Paris, you silly goose, although I'm sure Alice would love that," he smiled. Jazzy came up behind him with another box and just rolled his eyes.

"You'd never get her to leave," he whispered.

"Alice showed me pictures on the computer," I told them. "She showed me the Fievel tower and the bridge with all the locks on it! She said she would take me there when I'm older!"

Jasper and Emmett just kept laughing at me.

"First of all," Jazzy picked me up and tickled me. "It's the _Eiffel_ tower- Fievel's the mouse from that movie you watch all the time," he teased.

"Oh yeah," I laughed and wiggled out of Jazzy's arms.

"Second of all, you're going to have to be _way_ older before we let Alice take you to Paris," he smiled. Emmett nodded.

"Like, ten?" I asked. Jazzy's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Like, ten _thousand_ ," he said, but I knew he was kidding.

"There you are," Mom said from the doorway. "I was wondering where you ran off to. I need you to help me finish packing your room, otherwise you're going to be sad when you can't find something in Portland."

"Portland!" I shouted at Emmett, and everyone cringed. We were going to Portland.

"Yes, munchkin," Emmett recovered. "We're going to Portland."

* * *

Are you okay, sweetie?" Daddy asked me when we were sitting on the plane. I was in between him and mommy. Nobody else was on the plane. They were all driving to Portland. Mommy and Daddy said we wouldn't see them until Friday because it took so long to get there.

"The plane is really big," I whispered to him. I didn't know it was going to be this big. I was excited to fly in a plane before I got here, but now I wasn't so sure. Brian from my kindergarten class said he flew on a plane when he went to Disney, and he had a lot of fun, but he got sick. I didn't want to get sick.

"It is, but that's how it holds so many people. Remember how big you thought your school bus was the first time you rode in it?" Mommy said. I nodded. I did think my school bus was really big. I was scared because I didn't know who to sit next to. None of my brothers or sisters rode the school bus with me.

"Brian said he got sick on a plane," I added. "I don't want to get sick."

"It's okay if you get sick," Daddy said. "It happens. When we go up in the sky, your tummy is going to start doing flips, and it might feel funny. Some people get sick because of that."

"Are we going to see my mommy in the sky?" I asked, looking out the window. I hoped we could see my mommy. I missed her.

"I'm sorry, baby," Mommy Esme squeezed my hand. "Airplanes don't go that high, unfortunately."

"That's okay. I just want her to meet you. I don't think she'd mind you being my mommy," I told her, hugging her. Mommy held me tight, and Daddy rubbed my back.

"We're about to take off, so we need you to buckle her in," one of the ladies from the airplane said. Mommy let go of me and Daddy helped me with the seat belt.

"Are you ready for takeoff, sweetie?" Mommy asked me, smiling. I nodded excitedly. Daddy unwrapped my lollipop and told me to start eating it. It was cherry flavored – my favorite.

We started moving, and then we moved even faster. I gripped the armrest beside me tight, but Mommy and Daddy quickly took both of my hands. Daddy pointed out the window for me to look, and as we flew up into the sky, everything got smaller and smaller. The whole city of Chicago became like one of my toy villages. Soon, we couldn't see any people anymore.

"Are you feeling okay, love?" Daddy asked me. I nodded. My ears hurt a little, but the lollipop was helping. My stomach was doing flips, but I didn't feel like I was going to be sick.

"She's having the time of her life, Carlisle," Mommy smiled at Daddy. She rubbed my hand. When Chicago disappeared, I felt a little sad.

"Are we ever going to come back here?" I asked my parents. They quickly looked at each other, but then Daddy just shrugged.

"Probably not for a long time, but maybe someday," he suggested. "This is an important place to you, so we will probably take you back here someday."

"When you're older," Mommy added. I nodded.

"Like, ten thousand?" I frowned. That was a long time away. "Jazzy said I had to be ten-thousand before I could go to Paris with Alice." Mommy and Daddy both chuckled.

"Maybe before you turn ten-thousand," Daddy ran his fingers through my hair, smiling.


	4. Normal

**Summary:** After a week of living in Forks, Danielle gets labeled the "normal Cullen" for the first time. Danielle is 15 years old.

NORMAL

"How long before they stop staring at us?" I asked as we pulled into the parking lot. This was my first year in high school, and therefore, my first time actually going to school with my siblings. We just moved to Forks, and everyone was still getting used to the mysterious Cullens coming to town. My siblings had told me stories, but I have never experienced it for myself. I thought after a week it would all go away, but here we are, and people are still staring.

"Never," Rosalie chuckled. "Don't let it swing you, honey. Especially in a small town like Forks, people aren't used to this kind of excitement."

"They think we're weird, don't they?" I asked her. Rosalie shook her head.

"We're just different, you know that," she encouraged. "Do you remember your schedule?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Not really. I just remember I have chorus first and my friend Tyler is going to walk me to my classes after that. He's the only one who talks to me," I told her. Rosalie frowned, and Emmett, who was driving the other car, came up behind her.

"A boy is talking to you?" He asked. "I'll have to rough him up."

"Leave him alone!" I whined. "This is probably why nobody wants to talk to us!"

"Hey," Edward jumped in. "If a boy wants to talk to our baby sister, he's going to have to talk to us first," he smirked. "Who is this kid?"

"Tyler Newton," I rolled my eyes. "And you will _all_ stay away from him."

"His brother is Mike Newton," Alice piped up. "He's in our year, Edward."

"Great," Edward complained. "Of course he has an older brother. Can't you go back to Jr. High for a year?"

"They don't call it Jr. High anymore, Edward," I nudged him. "You're so old."

"Watch who you're callin' old, little darlin'," Jasper smirked. I stuck my tongue out.

"Life was so much easier before I went to school with you freaks," I teased, laughing.

"Have a fun day!" Alice called as I walked away. I just hid my head in horror.

* * *

"So how are you liking Forks so far?" Tyler asked me as we walked out of chorus.

"I like it. Believe it or not, it's warmer than Alaska," I smiled. "I like the possibility of having sunshine."

"Oh man, if you're into sun you're shit outta luck here. I can count on one hand the amount of sunny days we've had," he chuckled. I sighed.

"It's still better than Alaska," I pointed out. He nodded.

"I suppose so," he agreed. "I just switched schools, I can't imagine switching states _and_ schools."

"It's not so bad. I'd rather switch schools and states at the same time rather than move in the middle of a school year," I told him. He shrugged.

"Makes sense," he agreed. "Have you had to move like that before?"

"Not since I was little," I lied. I wasn't supposed to tell other humans how many times we moved around. It wasn't normal.

"Damn," he said. "I've lived in Forks my whole life. I can't imagine living anywhere else."

"I like Forks," I smiled. "Everyone is so close here."

"Do your siblings feel the same way?" Tyler asked. I looked at him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I feel like you've gotten involved in stuff. You're in chorus, you've signed up for the dance team, and people have seen you exploring around town. You talk to people outside of your family. Your siblings don't seem to really do that," Tyler explained. I started playing with my hands. I guess we weren't doing as good of a job blending in as we thought.

"They've just always been together, you know?" I tried to find my way out of this. "Rosalie and Jasper are twins, so they mostly hang out together, even at home. Emmett is with Rosalie and Alice is with Jasper, so they're the only ones who can really break that up."

"Wait," Tyler stopped me. "Rosalie and Emmett are _together_? Like, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Crap. Crap. Crap. " _And_ Alice and Jasper?" I took a deep breath.

"They're not related," I tried to justify. "We were all adopted."

"Still, you all _live_ together. How does that work?"

"Rosalie has her own bedroom, Alice and I share, and Emmett, Jasper, and Edward have a man-town in the basement," I explained. It wasn't entirely correct, but I needed to normalize the situation. "My parents are very strict about it all."

"I'm sure they have to be," Tyler trailed off. "So are you and Edward a thing, then? If your parents are matchmakers?"

"Don't be gross," I shook off the minor insult. I would never be interested in Edward.

"Just checking," he smiled. "You really are the normal Cullen, aren't you?"

"Is that what they're calling me?" I scoffed. "The 'normal Cullen?'"

"Well, like I said. You're the only one who ever talks to any of us. You're our insight into the mystery of the Cullen family."

"Great," I sighed. Another role I had to take on to keep my family safe. Now everyone in Forks was going to be asking me questions.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Tyler paused when we got to our next class. I shook my head.

"It's fine," I mumbled. "I'm glad you told me. Now I know when everyone is staring at us, it's because they think my siblings are weird, and I'm weird for hanging out with them."

"It's not like that, Danielle," Tyler tried to explain.

"Don't worry about it, Tyler," I walked past him and into the classroom.

* * *

"You have to be more careful, Danielle," Edward growled once we got in the car. By noon, the rumor of the Cullen matchmaker had made its way through the school. Needless to say, my family wasn't too thrilled.

"I'm sorry no one warned me that people saw my siblings as a bunch of freaks," I mumbled. "I stick out like a sore thumb compared to you guys."

"We didn't want to ruin your experience," Rosalie tried to explain. "We wanted you to get settled into school first."

"And you didn't think I would hear the rumors? Didn't you think someone would come tell me? I don't blame Tyler for wanting to know more. I don't know what normal is, because normal isn't something I've ever _had._ I need you all to warn me how to act, because now I ruined everything," I pouted. We were going to have to move again, and it was all my fault.

"We're not moving," Edward said, looking at me through the rearview mirror. I didn't look back at him. "This isn't your fault. I'm sorry I got upset with you. I'm upset with the situation, not you, I promise."

"I've never been to school with you guys before," I told him. "I don't want to be the 'normal Cullen' or the one who has to give all the answers, because I don't have them. Can't I just go to private school or something?" I whined. I was already stressed out about this.

"Just hang in there, sweetie," Rosalie comforted. "Keep doing what you're doing, and don't worry about us. We'll figure out something, we always do."

"Dad said I might be able to graduate from Forks. He said I might be able to stay here all four years," I explained. "I could make friends here," I whispered a little more softly. I didn't miss the glace Edward and Rosalie shot at each other.

"Then be the 'normal Cullen' and make friends," Rosalie encouraged. "Let people think the rest of us are freaks. You know the truth, that's all that matters."

"Just be yourself," Edward added. "Which, by the way, did you hit that high note today in chorus?" I smirked.

"Of course I did," I smiled, and everyone laughed.

I guess as long as I knew the truth, it didn't matter what others thought of my family. They may not be normal to the rest of the world, but they were normal to me, and that was normal enough.


	5. A Promise

**Summary:** Danielle finds out her new family isn't as human as they seem to be. Danielle is six years old.

THE TRUTH

"Emmett, slow down!" I whined as I chased him around the house. Emmett was my favorite brother, because he let me run around the house when Mommy wasn't home. Edward had already yelled at him, but because Emmett was older, he didn't have to listen to Edward.

"Emmett!" Rosalie yelled. "She's going to hurt herself, knock it off!"

"Sorry Rosie," Emmett frowned, and turned back to me. I was still upstairs, but everyone else was downstairs. "Looks like that's the end of it, munchkin."

"Can we race outside, Rosie?" I asked. Mommy sometimes let us race outside, even if we couldn't race in the house.

"It's too cold out," Rosie said. "Be careful on the stairs, Dani."

"I am!" I was six years old. I knew how to walk down the stairs.

As I started to go down the stairs, I miss-stepped and ended up plummeting down, hitting my head. I reached up to touch my head, and I pulled back to find blood. I started crying. It hurt so bad.

"Emmett, no!" Rosie yelled, and moved so fast I couldn't see her. She was holding Emmett back. Emmett who no longer looked like my big brother. His eyes were black, and he was growling. He was like an animal.

Within seconds, my dad was by my side, and Edward was helping Rosalie get Emmett out of the house. I didn't know why he was acting like that. Wouldn't he want to help me?"

"It's okay, sweetheart," Daddy said, picking me up. He went to touch my head, but I jerked back. It hurt too much for him to touch it.

"I just need to take a look, I know it hurts, I'm so sorry," he apologized, poking at my head and making it hurt more.

"Come on, let's go to my room so I can help you," Daddy said. I nodded and he picked me up.

"I want mommy," I hiccupped, still crying.

"Mommy will be here soon," Daddy promised. I cried even more.

* * *

Daddy put me on his bed and grabbed his medical bag. He tried to do things without me seeing them, but I saw him take out the shot.

"I don't want it!" I wailed. Daddy cringed.

"This is a good shot, sweetie," he encouraged. "It's going to make the pain go away, I promise."

"No, I don't want it!" I tried to pull away from him, but I couldn't. He was too strong. It was like fighting against my wall. I couldn't do it.

"Slight pinch, sweetheart," he whispered, and I felt it. Daddy held me and rubbed my back while I calmed down, and eventually, the pain went away.

"Deep breaths, love," he sighed. "Deep breaths. The worst part is over."

I could still feel him touching my head, but I didn't know what he was doing. I was so tired, and still scared.

"What happened to Emmett?" I asked. Daddy sighed.

"He just doesn't do well around blood. He got scared, too," he explained. I remember how Emmett looked. He definitely didn't look scared.

"Do you still want Mommy?" Daddy asked, starting to clean up his mess. I could see some of the bloody rags, and he lit them on fire. I nodded. I wanted Mommy.

"Why did you light those on fire?" I asked.

"Sanitation," Daddy smiled, tucking a piece of my hair. Within moments Mommy was here, pulling me into her arms.

"My baby," she cooed, rocking me back and forth. She kept apologizing, but I didn't know why.

* * *

"Daddy!" I screamed, waking up from another nightmare. Mommy came rushing in, and I started crying once I felt the wetness of the bed.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized over and over again. Mommy smiled sadly.

"It's okay, honey. It happens."

"Where's Daddy?" I cried. "I want Daddy."

"Daddy had to go to work," Mommy tried to explain. I shook my head, and it was getting harder to breathe.

"I want Daddy!" I insisted. Mommy came and picked me up.

"Daddy will be home in the morning," she said softly, ignoring my kicking and screaming. "Come on, let's get you changed."

Mommy picked me up, and we went to the bathroom together. She had new jammies for me, and she put me in the bath. I smelled really bad.

"Everything okay?" I heard Emmett say from outside of the bathroom. I tensed up. Was Emmett going to be an animal again?

"It's okay," Mom sighed, rubbing my back. "Why don't you go take care of her sheets?" Mom suggested. Emmett didn't say anything, but I didn't see him again.

I didn't like leaving my room anymore. I didn't want to hurt myself and make people turn into animals. I should have listened to Rosalie. It was all my fault.

* * *

"Dani?" Daddy poked his head in the door. I was on my floor playing with my Barbie dolls. "How are you feeling?" I nodded. My head still hurt, but I felt okay.

"Can we talk to you downstairs?" He asked. I nodded again.

"Do you want to use your words today?" He asked I gain. I shook my head no. I didn't want to use my words today. Daddy sighed.

"Can I pick you up?" He asked. I nodded. He came over and picked me up, placing me on his hip. I put my thumb in my mouth and rested my head against his shoulder. I knew Daddy didn't like it when I put my thumb in my mouth, but it made me feel better.

"Hi sweetie," Rosalie smiled when she saw me. "She looks exhausted, Carlisle," Rosie whispered to Daddy. I don't think she knew I was listening.

"Can you sit up, love?" Daddy asked when we finally sat down. Everyone was here, even Emmett.

"We wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day," Daddy told me. "That was really scary, right?" I nodded.

"We need you to tell us with your words if you are scared while we are talking, okay?" Mom asked. I shook my head. I didn't want to use my words today.

"Then how about you squeeze my hand?" Daddy offered. Mom gave him a look, but Daddy shook his head. Mommy didn't like it when I didn't use my words, but Daddy didn't mind. I nodded.

"When you got hurt," Daddy started, "You said Emmett turned into an animal," I nodded. "We want you to know that we are very different from you. We aren't human like you are. When you get hungry," Daddy poked my belly and I giggled, "you eat sandwiches, right?" I nodded. "When we get hungry, we drink blood."

"Do you have any questions, Dani?" Edward asked me. I did, but I didn't want to use my words.

"It's okay, love. We want you to be okay," Daddy encouraged. I sighed.

"If you drink blood, does that mean you eat people?" I whispered. Daddy shook his head.

"We don't. Animals have blood too, right?" I nodded. "We eat animals, just like you do. Except for us, it's less of a process."

"Did Emmett want to eat me?" I asked, trying not to look at Emmett.

"When you're really really hungry, you want to eat food that tastes good, right?" Daddy asked. I nodded. "Sometimes, we get really really hungry too, and human blood is better for us than animal blood."

"So he did want to eat me," I shuddered. I squeezed Daddy's hand. He started rubbing my back.

"We never wanted to hurt you," Daddy whispered. "We just need you to know, because we need you to be safe. We are not human, love. We are much faster, stronger, and we have different talents. We never want to hurt anyone, though."

"I'm sorry I ran in the house," I whined. Someone growled.

"Edward," Mom hissed. They sounded like animals, and I closed my eyes.

"Do you want to know all the cool things we can do, little darlin'?" Jazzy whispered from beside me. "Dad already told you how fast and strong we are, but Edward and Alice have some pretty cool stuff they can do too."

I looked up at Jasper and nodded. I wanted to know what they could do.

"Edward can read minds," Jasper pointed. My eyes widened. Emmett took me to a magician that could read minds. Was Edward a magician?

"Not quite," Edward chuckled. I gasped.

"What number am I thinking of?" I questioned him.

"Five," he rolled his eyes. "It's always five. Five is your favorite number, because you met us when you were five. Your favorite color is topaz, because it is the color of our eyes. Your favorite animal is a penguin, because you like the way they walk. I can name all of your Barbie dolls and their occupations too, if you want more proof," Edward smirked.

"You are magical," I gasped, and climbed off Daddy's lap to go to Edward. "How did you do that?" I asked him. Everyone else chuckled, and started laughing at me.

"They're not laughing at you, love," Edward smiled. "They're just happy to see you happy again."

"Do you want to know what I can do?" Alice asked, smiling. My eyes widened again. _Is Alice magical too?_ I asked Edward through my mind. He nodded, and pointed at her. I walked over and took her hand.

"I can see the future," She whispered, making jazz hands like I learned at dance class. I followed her hands.

"Show me!" I cheered. Alice chuckled.

"I can't show you right now, because nothing has happened yet, but if you wait and watch the mailbox," she pointed to the window where I could see the mailbox. "The mailman is going to be wearing a pink hat today, and will be arriving in three…two…one," as Alice finished, the mailman came and he was wearing a pink hat just as she said it. I looked between her and the mailman.

"You're going to hurt yourself, munchkin," Emmett chuckled. I stopped whipping my head back and forth. Emmett was right. It hurt.

"Who else has a superpower?" I asked. Alice nudged Jazzy, but Jazzy shrugged.

"You too?" I asked in awe, and ran over to him. Jazzy was already too cool, there was no way he had a superpower.

"I can feel everything you're feeling, and change it," Jazzy smiled. "Right now, you're happy, because you have the coolest family ever, but now…" Jazzy looked at me, and I started to feel tired. I yawned. As soon as it started, it was over, and I felt energized again.

"Did you do that?" I asked him. He nodded. "Wow!" I clapped.

"We don't want you to be afraid of us," Daddy pulled me back to him. "There are times when who we are can be scary, but we want you to know we will never hurt you. We also need you to know you can never tell anyone about what we showed you today. This is our little secret, okay?" Daddy asked, holding out his pinky. I wrapped my finger around his and promised.

"What happens if I tell someone?" I asked.

"We will have to leave," Dad sighed. "We don't get old, either, so we have to leave our home eventually, but it is just better for everyone if you keep this our secret."

"Okay, I can keep your secret," I smiled. "I can keep it, right?" I looked at Alice. She smiled.

"You're going to do great," she gave me the thumbs up.


	6. Little Darlin'

**Summary:** Danielle has a nightmare, but Carlisle isn't home to comfort her. Danielle is five years old.

Big Brother

 _"He was_ my _child too!" Mommy yelled. I didn't know who they were talking about. "You had no right to take him away from me!"_

 _"I had no choice, Katherine, you know that!" Daddy yelled back._

 _"You had no choice, maybe if you cared more about your family and less about your bad habits, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"_

 _"Shut your mouth, woman, you don't know what you're talking about."_

 _"I know enough, and so help me God if you get Dani mixed up in any of this…"_

 _"Is that a threat?"_

 _"It's a goddamn promise! Why can't you just leave us alone? Why can't you just be a father for once?"_

 _"I_ am _a father! I'm trying to protect her!"_

 _"You're protecting no one, you're just scum. You're human scum and they're using you!"_

 _"Shut up, Katherine!" Daddy hissed._

 _"You couldn't even protect your own son!" I heard a crash and ran into my closet. Mommy was crying. I couldn't hear Mommy or Daddy talk anymore. I didn't want to. I didn't like it when Daddy came home, because all he did was hurt Mommy and make her cry. I heard someone start to come up the stairs, and I knew if I wasn't in bed I would be in trouble. I crawled out of the closet and climbed into bed._

 _When Mommy came upstairs, her cheeks were blotchy and red from all the crying. I closed my eyes tight so she would think I was sleeping. I didn't want to make her sadder. I didn't want her to know I heard her and Daddy._

 _"You are so loved, my angel," Mommy whispered, and kissed me on the forehead. "It is safe now, you can go to sleep."_

 _I tried to concentrate on sleeping, but the sky was angry. There was so much thunder and lightning, and it was keeping me up. I carefully climbed down the stairs to see if Mommy was still awake. She was packing the car, but she looked scared. Finally, she saw me._

 _"We need to go away for a while, my love. I packed your bag while you were sleeping. Why don't you grab something to eat and go wait in the car. I know it's scary outside, but we don't have a choice right now," Mommy said. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a cereal bar, and then quickly ran to the car. The sky was scary._

 _Mommy didn't come outside for a long time. I started crying, because the noises were even louder outside and the sky would get so bright I thought it might be day time. The rain was so noisy I thought it was going to crash through the windows. Finally, Mommy came outside, but she was crying again._

 _"Why are you sad, Mommy?" I asked her._

 _"I'm not sad, sweetie," she lied. Mommy always lied to me about how she was feeling because she didn't want to upset me. "It's just the rain. This will all be over soon. Just close your eyes and go back to sleep."_

 _While we drove, I watched the trees. The rain made it harder to see, but I tried to picture all the fairies that lived there. Mommy always took me fairy hunting. I hoped the water fairies were having fun today._

 _I finally closed my eyes and was able to fall asleep – until the car stopped moving and jerked me awake._

 _"Danielle, run!" Mommy cried. "Danielle, you need to run!"_

 _"I don't want to!" I cried back. "Mommy, I'm scared!"_

 _"Danielle run!" Mommy kept yelling. Someone ripped open the door and I saw two red eyes staring at her. I screamed again._

 _"Danielle, wake up," a voice said. I tried to get out of the car, but I couldn't. I was trapped. I kept hurting myself._

 _"Danielle!" The voice said again._

* * *

"Mommy, no!" I yelled, crying as I shot up in bed. I was shaking and someone was sitting next to me, rubbing my arms. I crawled as far away from them as I could.

"Darlin, it's just me. It's just Jasper," he said. "Can you show me how you take deep breaths?" He asked. I nodded, crying. I took two deep breaths for him. I liked Jazzy. He was one of my favorites.

"Good," he smiled. "Come 'ere," I did as I was told and I crawled over to him.

"Where's Carlisle?" I sniffled. Jazzy rubbed my back. I didn't like using my words, but I wanted Carlisle. He was the one who helped the nightmares go away.

"He's at the hospital. He's a doctor, remember?" Jazzy explained. I nodded. "I can help the nightmares go away too, you know." I didn't believe him. Only Carlisle could make the nightmares go away. He was an expert.

"When I have nightmares, I read a story. Is that what Carlisle does?" Jazzy asked. I shook my head. Carlisle didn't have to read stories. He just knew them off the top of his head.

"Well, can I read you a story? We can make it our tradition," Jazzy nudged me. I frowned. I wanted Carlisle.

"Do you like princesses? This looks like a good princess story," he said, taking a book off my shelf. I could tell by the pictures it was Cinderella. I didn't like that one. The evil step-mother scared me.

"Carlisle was telling me the story of Heidi," I whispered, taking the book out of Jasper's hand. "Do you know about Heidi?"

"I happen to know about Heidi," Jazzy chuckled, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "What do you know about Heidi?"

"She went to live with her grandfather on a mountain," I told him. I started playing with some of his hair. It was almost as long as mine. I wondered if he would let me try and braid it. Alice said I looked pretty in braids.

"That's right. She liked living with him. She learned a lot of new things while she lived with him," Jazzy commented. I nodded. I already knew all of this. "What makes you like Heidi so much?" He asked.

"I think I'm going to learn a lot of things living with you," I mumbled. "I think I could be like Heidi."

"You know what, little darlin'?" Jazzy smiled. "I think you're right. Do you feel better now?" I nodded. I could barely remember my nightmare. Jazzy was really good at getting rid of nightmares. Almost as good as Carlisle.

"Why do you call me little darlin'?" I asked him. I didn't mind using my words around Jazzy.

"I don't know," he smirked. "I guess because you're little, and I'm your big brother now. Do you like it?" I nodded. I liked being called little darlin'.

"Is it because you're from Texas?" I guessed. Maybe he had other people he called "little darlin'."

"Possibly," he nodded. "I guess it's just a habit. If you don't like it, I'll stop."

"I don't want you to stop," I told him. "I like it," I promised.

"Well, little darlin'," Jasper smiled. "How about you climb back into bed, and we can finish reading Heidi until you fall asleep? That way you're not thinking about scary things, but thinking about good things," Jazzy suggested. I liked that idea.

"Do you get scared, Jazzy?" I asked him, curling up to his side. He nodded.

"I get scared of a lot of things. We all do," he mentioned. "Sometimes, I have nightmares too. It's normal."

"I don't want to have nightmares anymore," I whispered. Jazzy pulled me closer.

"As long as I am around, I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't have nightmares, and if you do, I will help you fight them off. Sound like a plan?" I nodded. It sounded like a great plan.

"Thank you, Jazzy," I yawned. Jazzy chuckled.

"You're welcome, little darlin'."


	7. High School

**Summary:** Danielle's first day of high-school post transformation.

HIGH SCHOOL

It has been two years since I became a vampire. I have struggled, and I have overcome more challenges than I ever could have imagined. After months and years of wondering if I would ever be in control enough, today I was finally going back to school.

"What if something happens? None of you are going to be there," I argued. Edward and Bella were still taking classes at Dartmouth, and the rest of my siblings were taking "breaks" from school. We were only on our second year here in New Hampshire, so my dad still had a few years before people noticed he wasn't aging. It was a good time to test the waters, or at least that's what they told me.

"I'm going to be there. We have all the same classes. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You've been doing so well," Jake comforted, rubbing my shoulders.

"I'm not worried about anything happening to _me,_ Jacob!" I growled, frustrated. This wasn't about me. This was putting nearly 800 people at risk. One paper cut, one wrong move in gym class, it was all over.

"We wouldn't let you go if we weren't 100% certain you could handle this," Alice took my hands. "You can do this, Dani. We're so proud of you."

"Yeah, just think, they're not letting _me_ go yet, so it really must be a privilege," Ryan smirked from the corner.

"You tried to kill a five year old who fell off his bike last month," I spat at him. Ryan was turned almost a week earlier than I was, but his control was much more limited. He needed more time.

"Exactly, which is why I don't have to be a victim to the American education system," he pointed. My eyes narrowed. I would bet money he did this on purpose. I took a deep breath, and let the severity of it all sink in.

"Maybe I should wait another year," I suggested. "Then I'll really be ready."

"Next year, Nessie is going to start High School too," Bella pointed out apologetically. "We need someone who is already established there."

"I don't like this," I whined, as I backed away from everyone. There was too much.

"Let me talk to her," Edward whispered, gesturing for the others to leave the room. I heard everyone start to clear out – except for Jacob who needed some further encouragement from Edward.

"You know you are more than capable of making it through school without any of us," Edward said, coming up behind me once everyone was gone. "That's not what you're worried about."

"Get out of my head, Edward," I hissed at him.

"You should know by now you can't pay attention to what others think of you," Edward chuckled. "You're worth so much more than that."

"I had friends, Edward. I had a life," I explained. "I miss them. I don't want to have to walk through the halls of some dumb copy-cat of a school and think of how many people I left behind. You all don't have to go through that, I do."

"I know," Edward nodded, sadly. "And I wish with every ounce of my being I could take that longing and sadness away from you, but I can't."

"I know, I know, _this is our life_ ," I mocked, remembering with perfect clarity the speech I got every time I complained about being a Cullen.

"You can make new memories," Edward encouraged. "Make new friends. You'll be going to school with Jacob now, which will be vastly different. Plus, Renesmee will look old enough next year to join you. It's a new generation of Cullens," Edward smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"Renesmee is _not_ old enough to be in high school," I told him as I mentally reminded him of all the things I got into my freshman year. Edward grumbled.

"It will also be your job to make sure she doesn't get into any of that," he warned. I smirked, but it faded quickly.

"How do you do it?" I asked him. "How do you just pretend like you've never lived another life? Like you've never made friends or experienced a shitty teacher or broke a person's heart? High school is such an experience…I don't know if I can pretend I've never been through it before."

"It gets easier," Edward sighed. "The older you get, the more you realize you have nothing in common with the other students, and you inevitably end up with your own kind. By your senior year, I wouldn't be surprised if you, Jacob, Nessie, and Seth started your own lunch table."

"Nessie will be the normal Cullen now," I smiled.

"Don't sell yourself short," Edward grinned. "My daughter is pretty amazing, but so is my baby sister. You can be as normal as you're comfortable."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I groaned as the anxiety picked up.

"Danielle, you're going to be late!" Mom called from the other room, chuckling. I looked up at Edward with wide eyes.

"Never thought you'd hear that again, huh?" Edward smirked. I shook my head slowly.

"It's like flashbacks from 'nam," I joked, and Edward chuckled. The rest of the family walked back into the room.

"Babe, we gotta go," Jake threw his arm around me, and nodded at Edward. Despite years of competition between the two, they finally mellowed out and developed a weird bromance type of thing. It was nice.

"Wish me luck," I sighed, hugging my mom. She smiled, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You're going to be amazing," she smiled. "Here, you two get together. I want to take a picture!" She directed.

"Mom!" I complained. Jake just laughed.

"Just do what she says and make my life easier," he whispered in my ear. I groaned, and stood next to Jake.

"Happy first day of school, Dani!" She cheered as she took the picture. I rolled my eyes and gave her the thumbs up.

"Love you, mom!" I called on my way out.

* * *

"Name, please?" The receptionist asked.

"Danielle Cullen and Jacob Black," I answered. We decided I would enroll using my maiden name, since Jake and I definitely didn't look like siblings, and we didn't want any trouble about our marriage. If anyone asked, he was my boyfriend again.

"Alright, here you go," she said, handing us our schedules. I gave her a small thanks and walked out of the office with Jacob.

"What's on the docket?" He asked.

"Boring, boring, and more boring," I complained. Jake pulled me closer.

"It could be worse, you know," he nudged. I glared at him. How could this possibly be worse, other than the obvious of me massacring the whole school?

"We could be starting as freshman," he laughed, and I groaned. Starting as a junior was bad enough.

"Let's get this over with," I complained as I dragged Jake into our first class.

* * *

"How was your first day?" Alice charged me when we walked through the door. I didn't even realize she would be home.

"Uneventful," I told her as I dropped my bag. I wasn't looking forward to all of the "catch-up" homework my teachers assigned.

"At least now you'll have something to do while you're obsessing over me every night," Jake winked, noticing my angered look at my backpack.

"You're disgusting," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Seriously, though," Alice said. "Use your time wisely. You have obligations again, and you need to keep up your grades. It's a Cullen tradition," she smiled.

"Sure, sure," I half-heartedly agreed, picking up Jake's expression and my backpack. "Better get started," I commented as I strolled upstairs.

I opened my backpack and took out one of my new notebooks, only to find a picture of Tyler, Marianna, Andrew, Alex, Fiona, and myself taped on the inside. There was writing that said:

 _Your past is a part of you. It will never leave you, so long as you can be strong enough to carry it on your shoulders. Make new friends, but keep the old close to your heart. They haven't forgotten you, either._

I knew immediately who put the picture in there.

 _Thanks, Edward._ I texted my big brother.

 _Anytime._ He responded.

If I could live through high school once as a human, I could do it again as a vampire. I would make new friends, and I would keep my family close by my side. Like Edward said, a new generation of Cullens was about to hit Lebanon High - and they had no idea what was coming for them.

 **A/N:** **Thank you to annexcullen who suggested the plot for both this chapter and "Little Darlin'." I hope you all are enjoying these one shots, as I am enjoying writing them! If you have any plot suggestions, please feel free to reach out! Thank you all for your continued support!**


	8. Bedtime

**Summary:** Five year old Danielle does not want to go to bed.

BEDTIME

"Mommy never made me go to be this early," I pouted. Carlisle said I needed to go to bed in ten minutes, but it was still light out. Mommy never made me go to bed when it was still light out.

"It is seven o'clock. You need eleven hours of sleep, and you need to wake up for kindergarten tomorrow. It's bedtime, Danielle," Carlisle said.

"No it's not! I want to keep playing with Emmett!" I yelled.

"Sweetie, you're going to be tired if you don't go to bed soon," Esme told me.

"Shut up, you're not my mommy!" I yelled back at her. I could tell I hurt her feelings, because she left the room. I didn't care. I wanted my mommy to come save me from these people. They were being mean.

"Danielle," Carlisle gasped, coming closer to me. He looked mad. I quickly got up and ran behind the couch. I didn't want him to hurt me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I cried.

"Danielle, sweetheart, relax," he said softly. He didn't look as mad anymore. "I'm not going to hurt you," he told me. "Remember? I told you I would never hurt you."

I nodded. Carlisle took my hands, and I let him.

"I'm not happy you said those mean things to Esme," he looked into my eyes. It was scary. I felt like he could read my mind. "We adopted you, do you know what that means?"

I shook my head. I know they told me before, but couldn't remember.

"Remember when we went to that fancy building in the city, and the lady in the black dress asked you some questions about coming to live with me and Esme?" I nodded. They took me out for ice-cream afterwards.

"That was the day we adopted you. It means your mommy and daddy can no longer be here to take care of you, so we are going to instead. We are going to be your mommy and daddy now."

"I don't want you to be my mommy and daddy," I whispered. "You're mean," Carlisle sighed and squeezed my hands.

"I'm really sorry you feel that way, love," he said softly. "However, it doesn't mean you can talk to adults the way you talked to Esme. We don't say 'shut up' to people, no matter how upset we feel."

"My daddy said shut up to my mommy a lot," I told him.

"Your daddy hurt your mommy though, right?" Carlisle asked. I nodded. He hurt mommy a lot. Especially with his words.

"You hurt Esme tonight when you said that to her," Carlisle explained. "Even if you don't want Esme to be your mommy, you need to be kind to her. We should be kind to everyone, right?" I nodded.

"We didn't set a bedtime for you to be mean," Carlisle insisted. "We are acting as your mommy and daddy now, whether you want us to be or not. That means we have rules that you need to follow, because these are rules our children followed, and they are rules that are going to keep you safe and healthy – Danielle, please look at me when I'm speaking to you," Carlisle directed, and lifted my head up to look at his eyes again. "Do you understand? We aren't trying to be mean, we're trying to help you make good choices."

"I'm sorry I hurt you with my words," I whimpered. Carlisle made me feel bad about what I did. It was almost worse than daddy just yelling at me and forgetting about it later.

"I don't think I'm the one you need to apologize to," Carlisle squeezed my hands. "Do you want me to go with you?" He asked. I nodded.

Together, Carlisle and I climbed up the stairs and went into his bedroom where Esme was waiting for us. She looked really sad. I looked over at Carlisle, who ushered me forward.

"Go on," he whispered from behind me, and I walked over to where Esme was sitting and took her hands, just like Carlisle took mine when I was in trouble.

"I'm sorry I hurt you with my words," I apologized to her. Words were scary. Esme smiled softly, and ran one of her hands through my hair.

"It's okay, little one. I am sorry that I made you think I was replacing your mommy. No one can ever replace her, right?" I nodded. No one could replace my mommy. Still, Esme was a good mommy. She took care of me and made me breakfast. She drove me to school.

"My mommy would really like you," I told her, playing with the ring on her finger. Esme chuckled.

"I'm glad," she smiled.

"I think," I paused for a moment. "I think if anyone in this world other than my real mommy had to be my mommy, I'd want it to be you."

"That's very sweet of you to say, Danielle," Esme smiled even bigger. "I would love it if you let me be your new mommy."

"Would you love it enough to let me stay up for ten more minutes?" I whispered into her ear, hoping Carlisle didn't hear us. It could be our little secret.

"You're such a little sneak!" Esme laughed and started tickling me. I squealed and ran back over to Carlisle who picked me up and brought me over to where Esme was sitting on the bed. He held me and she tickled me.

"Stop, stop!" I shrieked, and eventually, they did. I was out of breath now.

"Here are your options," Carlisle told me. "You can go get ready for bed, or you can stay in here and let us tickle you some more," he warned. My eyes widened, I didn't want more tickling.

"Bedtime!" I declared, and ran out of the room. I could still hear Carlisle and Esme laughing.

 **A/N:** Thank you Katie for the suggestion, and thank you everyone for your continued support!


	9. I Didn't Mean To

**Summary:** Danielle slips up and takes a human life.

I DIDN'T MEAN TO

"Carlisle," I heard Jake whisper. He had been playing with my hair for the past hour or so, going back and forth between uncomfortable periods of silence and trying to get me to talk. He would have more luck with a brick wall.

"Give her time, Jacob. It's a loss," Dad explained. He too had been sitting with us, trying to get me to do anything other than shut down. I didn't want to. I didn't want to feel anything anymore. I didn't want to be alive anymore. I didn't deserve it.

"Do you need anything, sweetie?" Mom asked, peeking her head in. I didn't know if she was asking me or Jacob.

"We're all set, Esme, thank you," Jake responded after a moment, sighing when I didn't respond. I heard Mom come in and sit beside my dad. I kept my eyes fixated on the flower vase in the corner. All I wanted was for everyone to leave me alone. Edward was downstairs. He knew this. He could tell them to leave, but he didn't.

"Danielle, sweetheart," my mom started. I knew what she was going to say. It's what they always said. "It _wasn't_ your fault," she insisted. Yup, knew it. "You have to understand that. It could have happened to anyone."

Jake rested his head on my shoulder. His touch was the only thing saving me right now, and I think he knew that. He wasn't with me when it happened, thank God, but he hasn't left me since he found out.

"Who found her?" Mom asked.

"Alice and Jasper," Dad whispered. "Alice saw it, but she was too late. We knew this would happen, Esme."

"I don't understand, she was doing so well-"

"Not to be rude, but can you _please_ have this conversation somewhere else?" Jake hissed. "She's upset enough as it is."

"You're right, Jacob," Dad apologized. He paused, and ran his fingers through his own hair. "I never wanted this for her," he admitted, frustrated. "I thought," he shook his head, standing up, "I thought we could protect her from this. I've seen so many of my children struggle…I've never wanted it to be her."

"Neither did I," Jake whispered softly, nuzzling my neck and kissing my shoulder. I wanted to be capable of more. I wanted to give them more. I couldn't. I failed.

"Here's some water, Jake," Alice joined, placing a glass on the side table. I wasn't surprised by the fact Jasper wasn't with her. I wouldn't want to be around me if I could sense emotions either.

"How did this happen?" Jake asked, running his hands down his face.

"I didn't see it, Jake, I'm so sorry," Alice apologized. Jake shook his head. "She's been a vampire for years – was on a damn _airplane_ when she was a newborn – and never even _thought_ about drinking someone's blood," Jake stood up and started pacing. I looked up, and traced him with my eyes. His face was red, and he was growling. He was getting angry, and was going to transform if someone didn't calm him down. "How does she go from _that_ to _this,"_ he pointed at me.

"Jake," Dad warned him. Dad saw the signs too. I could hear movement outside the door, and I was pretty sure it was the rest of the family preparing for a fight. Jake was shaking now.

"He was a singer, Jacob," Edward entered, raising a hand to the agitated werewolf. I was grateful for his intervention.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jake asked. I wished he would come back over here and hold me again.

"It means the scent of his blood was the closest thing to a perfect meal Danielle would ever get. Nothing would be more satisfying or tasteful than his blood. It is nearly impossible to resist," Edward explained, moving closer to Jacob.

"There is no one in this house who would be able to resist that, not even Bella," Edward told him. I shook my head.

"There's one person," I whispered, playing with my hands. The room fell silent, and I felt the lasers of five pairs of eyes on me. I brought my head back down, wishing I hadn't said anything at all.

"You can't compare yourself to me, Dani," Edward emphasized. "What Bella and I had was very different."

"Bella was your – what did you call it?" Jake asked, turning back and forth between my dad and Edward.

"Singer," Dad confirmed. "She was."

"I thought it was going to be impossible for me to resist her, which is why I kept leaving. I almost destroyed my own family over my bloodlust for her," Edward explained, turning to me. "If I didn't love her so completely, I would have killed her, Danielle. So many times, I envisioned how I would lure her away during lunch, or how I could do it quickly in the middle of the night. It wasn't until I was truly faced with what my life would be like without her that I stopped feeling that way."

"Yet, you still resisted," I argued.

"And if your singer was Jacob, you would have too," Edward assured. I wasn't sure I believed that. I could still hear the man's screams as I bit into his neck. I could remember with full force the pain he was feeling, increasing each moment the venom lasted in his system. I could taste his blood, and Edward was right. It tasted better than any meal I ever had as a human. I shouldn't have been alone. I didn't mean to kill him. I saw him, I smelt him, and my instincts took over.

"It was an accident," I croaked. "I didn't mean to."

"We know you didn't, sweetheart," Mom came rushing over and took Jake's spot. She pulled me into her arms and rocked me back and forth. Venom began to escape my eyes, and my body started to shake. The grief was finally leaving my body.

I let myself feel everything I had been pushing away. I let myself feel the shame, the pain, and the pity. I let myself be afraid.

"She's going to be okay, Jacob," I heard my dad whisper. I heard Alice and Edward leave the room quietly while I continued to sob in my mother's arms.

"I've never seen her like this," Jake admitted.

"Her kindness and devotion to others have always been her strengths. She has always carried around pockets of grief, and now, she has been the cause of someone's death. It has elevated that grief, which is why she tried to push it away for so long. She's dealing with it now, Jacob. That's the important part," Dad explained. "Go be with your wife."

"Thank you, Carlisle," Jake nodded, and I felt my mom transfer me to Jake's arms. I welcomed the warmth and rested my head in the crook of his neck. I didn't know when I'd feel better again, but I knew my husband and my family would be on my side no matter what.


	10. A True Friend

**Summary:** Danielle tells her new first-grade class something she shouldn't have.

A TRUE FRIEND

"I'm gonna win the race when we get outside," Kyle bragged to the class. We were cleaning up our tables for lunch and recess. At the beginning of the week, Kyle challenged all of us to a race. He thought he was fast.

"Stop being so mean, Kyle," Miranda spoke up. She didn't like it when Kyle bragged. Actually, she didn't really like Kyle at all.

"Class, that's enough. Finish cleaning and then line up for recess," Mrs. Johnson said. I liked Mrs. Johnson.

"Come on, Danielle. I bet you'll come in second," Kyle whispered to me as I finished putting away my notebook. Kyle was wrong. I was going to come in first. I raced with my brothers all the time. They said I was the fastest human they knew.

"Alright, I know you all are planning this race," Mrs. Johnson said before she walked us to the lunchroom. "I just want you all to know to be careful and safe while you're racing. Also remember that winning doesn't matter because in the end, what is it all about?"

"Having fun," the class chorused. Every time we played a game Mrs. Johnson reminded us it was about having fun. She didn't even keep score. The only winners were the people who had fun.

"Good, now let's go eat some lunch!" She smiled. She was my favorite teacher at Chapman Elementary School. She was very nice.

* * *

Lunch took a long time. I sat next to Kyle, who brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He also brought Oreos, so I traded five of my grapes for one. Mommy packed me a tuna sandwich today, which Rosalie didn't like because it smelt really bad. I didn't like the smell either, and I was only a human. Still, I really liked tuna. Especially when Mommy put cheese on it, like she did today.

"Did your mom write you another note?" Kyle asked me. I nodded. Mommy always wrote me a note.

"She says to have a great day, and we're going to have pizza for dinner!" I cheered. I loved pizza.

"Lucky," Kyle pouted. "We're having meatloaf."

"That's gross," I chuckled. "I get to eat whatever I want because my family is all-" I quickly covered my mouth. I almost gave the secret away.

"Is all what?" Kyle asked, and I could see the eyes of several other kids from my class looking at me.

"Older than me," I lied. Daddy didn't like it when I lied, but he said that if it was between lying and telling the secret, I had to lie. I wouldn't get in trouble if I lied to keep the secret. "Yeah," I recovered. "I'm the youngest, so I get to choose what we all eat." They seemed to believe me.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have, Danielle?" Hannah asked. I held up five fingers.

"Three brothers and two sisters," I counted. "Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and Alice. Rosalie and Jasper are twins – but they don't look the same like Liam and Lucas do – and Emmett and Alice are brother and sister too. We were all adopted."

"I think I am adopted," Francesca inserted. "I look nothing like my parents."

"But you look like your dad, Danielle," Kyle pointed out. "You can't be adopted if you look like your parents."

"Uh huh," I whined. "My biological mom died and then Carlisle and Esme adopted me. I used to live in Chicago," I argued.

"Sure you did," Kyle teased. He didn't believe me.

"I have different colored eyes than my dad," I stuck my tongue out. "His are yellow and mine are blue. So I have to be adopted."

"I guess that makes sense," Kyle finally believed me. I didn't give out the secret by saying my daddy had yellow eyes, did I?

Suddenly, one of the teachers in the lunchroom began to clap. We responded with our own clapping pattern, the one Mrs. Johnson taught us, and eventually they called our table to line up for recess. Kyle's mom gave him money to go buy an ice-cream, even though it was cold outside. My mom said no when I asked her this morning.

"Are you ready to race?" Kyle asked, his ice-cream already dripping. He should have gotten napkins.

"I'm ready to win," I teased. I almost beat Jasper and Emmett when I practiced yesterday. If I could beat them, I could beat another human. They were _fast_.

"Yeah right," Kyle scoffed. He was now wearing his ice-cream on his shirt. His mommy wouldn't be happy.

"I can't wait to see you lose, Kyle," Miranda spoke up. She was a few people in front of us in line. "Especially to a girl."

"Who says he's gonna lose to a girl?" Nick added from behind us. He was racing too. "We all know I'm the fastest kid in first grade."

"Well, I'm the fastest in the whole school!" Kyle retorted.

"We'll see about that," I smirked, and we began walking towards the hard top for recess.

* * *

"Keep it clean, munchkins," Kyle's older sister Christine said while we all lined up. She was in fourth grade, so she was the referee. "No pushing, no tripping, and no going out of bounds," she pointed at her brother. "The winner is the first person to high-five my hand without knocking me over. Does everyone get it?"

We all nodded. I doubled checked to make sure my shoes were tied, just like Emmett taught me. I did some jumping jacks to show my strength, like Jazzy said to do, and crouched down. I tried to remember what foot I should start off with, but I couldn't. I guessed.

"On your mark," Christine started. "Get set, go!" She called, and we were off. Kyle immediately pushed me to the ground as soon as we started, and I started crying. Of course, no one saw until the race was over, and Kyle ended up winning.

"Are you okay, Danielle?" Miranda asked. She had been watching. "You broke the rules, Kyle!" She yelled at him. "You're a cheater!"

Kyle ran back, and he was smiling. He held a hand out to help me up, but I pulled myself up instead. I didn't want his help.

"Sorry, Danielle," he apologized. "I couldn't lose to a girl in front of my sister. She'd never let me hear the end of it."

"I thought we were friends," I cried. "I don't want to be friends with someone who pushes me down," I walked away from him. Miranda stuck her tongue out and followed me.

"Kyle's a jerk," Miranda told me. "We'll be your friends now," she pointed to Makayla and Madison. I used to think they were mean, but Miranda was being nice to me now.

"You can't call people a jerk, that's a mean word," I told her, wiping the tears from my eyes. I wished my brothers were here to beat Kyle up. They said they'd do that to anyone who made me cry that wasn't them.

"It's only mean if it's not true," Miranda explained. It made sense. "I bet you're pretty fast, huh?"

"I almost beat my brothers yesterday, they're way faster than any human, so I thought if I could beat them, I could win the race," I explained, not realizing I had said too much. Miranda looked to Madison and Makayla and started laughing.

"Do you think your brothers are the fastest in the world?" She teased. Now Miranda was being mean to me. I knew in my head they were. Well, not Emmett and Jasper, because Edward was faster than them, but Edward was. Still, I couldn't say any of that without breaking the secret.

"They're the fastest in my world," I whispered. I wished they were here. I wanted to go home.

"Recess is over, Danielle, we have to go line up," Miranda said, and held out her hand. She was being nice again. I didn't know how to feel around her.

"When you see Kyle, don't talk to him," Madison coached. "You're not his friend anymore. You can't be friends with people who hurt you."

"Yeah," Makayla echoed. I nodded.

I got in line behind Miranda, Madison, and Makayla, and Kyle tried to talk to me. I did what Makayla said and ignored him. My leg still hurt from when I fell, and I ripped my tights. My mommy was going to be sad, and it was all Kyle's fault. I didn't want to be friends with him anymore.

* * *

Right before the walkers were dismissed, Kyle came up and gave me a card.

"I know you're mad at me," he explained, "so I made this for you during Art. I hope we can be friends again. You used to be really fun to hang out with."

I wanted to talk to Kyle really badly, but Miranda was watching me. She was on Bus 5, so she was the last to leave. I couldn't talk to Kyle without making Miranda mad, so I took the card and walked away.

"Hi sweetie," Mom smiled when I got in the car. "How was school?"

"It was okay," I said softly, playing with the card Kyle wrote me. I couldn't read that well, so I was hoping Edward would read it with me later. He would know what happened without me having to tell him, because his superpower was reading my mind.

"How did your race go?" Mommy asked. I wished she didn't bring it up.

"Kyle won," I told her. I didn't want to tell her he pushed me down. "I almost told the secret today, I'm sorry," I apologized. Mom looked at me through the mirror.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I almost told Kyle that you don't eat and I told Miranda you were the fastest. They didn't believe me though, so the secret is still safe," I promised.

"Did you have to lie?" Mommy asked. I nodded.

"A little bit," I told her. She squeezed my knee, and it hurt. She thought it was her fault, though.

"I'm sorry, sweetie!" She immediately let go. "Let's go home, and I'll make you some hot chocolate, how about that? Maybe we can turn this day around," she said. I nodded. I would like that.

* * *

After my hot chocolate, I went upstairs to Edward's room and knocked on his door. He told me I could come in.

"You don't have to knock, sillyhead," he chuckled, pulling me to him and tickling me. I giggled, and almost dropped my card.

"Stop it!" I squealed. Finally, he did, and I handed him the card. "I need you to help me read this."

"What is it?" He asked, taking the card. "It better not be a love letter."

"Ew," I shook my head. "That's gross."

"Yeah," Edward chuckled. "It is." I showed Edward in my mind what happened, and he nodded. He understood everything. "I'm sorry that happened to you, bug."

"It's okay. I think the card is Kyle's apology. He was really sad when I told him I didn't want to be his friend anymore," I explained. Edward sighed.

"Friends are tough," he agreed. "I don't know if it's a good idea to be friends with Miranda, though," he grimaced.

"I don't either," I agreed. "But she was nice to me today."

"I'm glad, but Kyle has been nice to you for a while. He just made a sad choice today. Let's see what his card says," Edward began to read. "Dear Danielle. I am sorry I pushed you at recess. Friends shouldn't push friends. I hope we can be friends again. I promise to let you win next time."

"Ugh," I groaned, laying down on Edward's couch. Edward started laughing.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"I don't want him to _let_ me win!" I complained. That was no fun.

"So tell him you want a rematch, and if he pushes you down again, I'll crush him," Emmett added from the doorway.

"Emmett!" I laughed and ran over to him. He picked me up and spun me around.

"Careful," Edward warned.

"I bet I can beat you today," I squinted. "I bet Jazz will referee."

"I bet you're right," I grinned, but Emmett held up a finger, "About Jazz being referee. There's no chance you're going to win."

"Oh, it's on," I challenged, and wiggled out of Emmett's arms to run to Jasper's room.

Who needed friends when you had the best big brothers in the world?

 **A/N: Thank you to Adrianna for the suggestion. I took a little bit of a different path, but I hope you still enjoyed the chapter.**


	11. The Kids Are Alright

**Summary:** Nessie and Seth join Jacob and Danielle at Lebanon High School.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

"Nessie, chill," I chuckled from the front seat. Nessie finally looked old enough to join us big kids at school and was rightfully excited. Unlike Jacob, Seth, and I, Nessie had never experienced high school before. In reality, Nessie hadn't experienced _any_ school before.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, shrinking into Seth. They were a couple now, ever since last year when Nessie figured out the whole imprinting thing. Nessie was confused at first, but after a long pep talk from her favorite aunt, she quickly recovered. Seth always had been and always would be her best friend. Now, he was able to be a little more than that, too.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Seth emphasized. I gagged. Everyone said Jake and I were this bad at first too, but I had no recollection of being that fluffy. We spent more time fighting with each other than anything else, really. I was almost envious of Seth and Nessie for that. They had nothing to fight about.

"What classes are you taking, Ness?" Jake asked her. Nessie perked right up and took out her schedule.

"Um…English 9 Intensive, Algebra/Geometry 1, Physical Science Intensive, Human Performance, Current World Issues, Photography, and French 1," Nessie recited, smiling. "Oh, and I had Daddy call to make sure I was in lunch three with you," she added, turning to a beaming Seth. Seth kissed the side of her head.

"You guys have third lunch too, right?" Seth asked us, turning away from Nessie for a moment.

"Yup," Jake frowned. Jake and I began a lunchtime tradition last year of going to one of the janitor closets on the second floor and having some "us" time. He wasn't happy that we weren't going to be able to continue that this year. I told him we could probably still get away with it, but he didn't want to risk Nessie finding out. _"Edward has enough reasons to kill me,"_ He complained.

"I can't believe you're already juniors. Before you know it, you'll be graduating again!" Seth teased.

"Neither of us graduated the first time, Seth," Jake groaned, clearly annoyed. Seth was coming in as Jake's little brother. So far, they were playing the parts well.

"Be nice," I warned him. "He's excited."

"I know," Jake sighed. "I just liked having some one on one time with you."

"I know," I squeezed his hand. I would miss that too. "Still, don't ruin this for Nessie."

"I won't," Jake promised.

* * *

"You have my phone number in there, right?" Nessie nodded.

"Yes, mom," she complained, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, don't 'mom' me," I warned her. "If anything happens to you, your parents will kill me. The four of us are in this together now."

"If any of the teachers or students give you any trouble, you come find us, okay?" Jake directed. I looked over at him and smiled. I could see so much of Billy in him when he talked to Nessie. She was like a little sister to him.

"I promise!" Nessie whined. "Can I go now?" She asked.

"Fine," Jake and I whined at the same time. Seth gave us a weird look and so did Renesmee. She ran up to me and gave me a hug, quickly showing me a vision of her laughing with friends. It was what she wanted high school to be like. She was finally getting a piece of normal in her life. I was happy for her.

"This is going to be a good day, auntie," Nessie smiled, pulling away. "Have fun in your classes!"

"You too!" I called to her. Seth and Nessie took each other's hands and walked into the building. Jake was leaning up against the car, but started massaging my shoulders once Nessie walked away. I sighed and leaned into him.

"Our little girl is all grown up," Jake rested his head on top of mine. I nodded.

"If it's this bad for us, I can't even _imagine_ how Edward and Bella are feeling right now," I mused. Jake snickered at the thought.

"Edward's probably got his hands full with Bella today, that's for sure," he retorted.

"I'm sorry," I apologized to him, the grief hitting me like a ton of bricks. Jake instantly sensed the change in emotion and held me tighter.

"Sorry for what?" He asked, panicking. "What's wrong?" I turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry I can't give you that," I choked. "I see how you are with Nessie, and I see how much of Billy is in you. You would be such a great dad, and I'm sorry I can't give you that anymore."

"Babe," Jake pulled me into his arms and rubbed my back. "I don't care about that."

"I do," I mumbled into his chest. "I never realized how badly I wanted kids until right now."

"Maybe we can adopt someday," Jake suggested. "Do what your parents did with you." I shook my head.

"We can't do that to someone," I protested. "I love my life, but I wouldn't have chosen it on my own."

"Okay," Jake comforted. "Then we figure something else out. Maybe we get a dog or something."

"We have one," I teased, nudging him and trying to smile a little. I didn't mean to turn this into a thing.

"You better be talking about Seth," Jake pinched me, causing me to squeal.

"Sure, sure," I mocked him, laughing. He rolled his eyes.

"You're lucky we're in public," he smacked me on the butt. I gasped.

"Jacob Black you naughty boy," I taunted, batting my eyelashes. I quickly looked at my watch, noticing we had about twenty minutes before our first period.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jake asked, getting excited. I winked and nodded.

"Let's go make some babies," I whispered in his ear before walking away towards our favorite closet.

 **A/N: Thank you, Kimmy, for the suggestion!**


	12. Baseball

**Summary:** Danielle's first baseball game as a human and then later as a vampire.

BASEBALL

The first time I saw my family play baseball, I wasn't actually supposed to be there. There was thunder, just like there always was when they played baseball. I was old enough that I wasn't as afraid of the thunder anymore, so they thought it would be okay to leave me at home and let me sleep while they all played. I didn't have a babysitter that night.

I woke up at probably about 11:00 PM to an empty house. It was dark and quiet, except for the thunder that seemed to echo in my chest. I was terrified.

I tried calling my dad, but he didn't answer. I remembered that Emmett and Jasper had taken me to the clearing they liked earlier in the week to play some football. I vaguely remembered how to get there, so I decided to set off on my own.

I wasn't in the rain for five minutes before Edward found me, closely followed by my extremely worried parents.

"What were you thinking?" Dad exclaimed, pulling me to him and wiping my wet hair out of my face. "Are you okay, are you hurt?" I shook my head. He was soaked, but I didn't mind being in his arms. The thunder was loud outside.

"I should have stayed with her," I heard mom whisper beside me. "Come on, Dani, I'll take you home."

"I don't want to go home," I told them. Edward chuckled.

"She wants to see us play baseball," he smirked. "She woke up and got curious."

"If it wasn't raining…" Dad began, but I put on my best puppy dog eyes. The ones I knew he couldn't resist.

"I'll stand under the trees where the rain can't get me! Please, I was too scared at the house. I need to see you guys so I know what the thunder is," I begged.

"Let her watch, Carlisle," Edward helped, winking. "She's got a point. It could help her get used to the storms."

"I suppose, but only for a little while. You still need your sleep, young lady," Dad took my hand. "Do you want a lift?" He asked me. I nodded, excited. I loved riding on their backs, even in the rain.

"Be careful," I heard mom warn before Dad took off. I smiled, laughing.

* * *

"Uh oh, is the munchkin getting in on this?" Emmett teased when we got to the clearing. I stuck my tongue out at him and he let me steal his baseball bat.

"Mom won't let me play, but Dad said I could watch," I explained. "I didn't want to be in the house by myself."

"You're lucky I saw you," Alice warned. "You could have gotten lost."

"Yes, yes," I mumbled, practising swinging with the bat just like Rosalie showed me. "Mom already gave me the lecture."

"Danielle, attitude," Dad reprimanded. I sighed.

"I bet if I played I could beat you," I stuck my tongue out at Emmett. He laughed.

"For some reason, I don't doubt that munchkin," he chuckled. "I'll have to go talk some sense into Carlisle."

"Please!" I perked up. "It would be so much fun! I'm going to be here anyway!"

"I'll see what I can do," Emmett winked and disappeared. I walked over to where Jasper and Rosalie were talking to each other.

"You're going to be the death of me," Rosalie sighed, wrapping her arms around me. I smiled and gave Jasper a high-five.

"Are you gonna play, little darlin'?" Jasper asked. I shrugged.

"Emmett is working on Dad now. I think it might work. He's in a good mood tonight," I reported. Jasper and Rosalie both laughed.

"I think you're right about that," Jasper smirked as Dad walked over.

"What am I going to do with you?" Dad teased. "At least you had enough sense to wear a rain jacket."

"Does this mean you're going to let me play?" I begged, ripping myself from Rosalie's embrace.

"One inning, then you go home with Mom. I don't want you to get sick," Dad explained.

"Deal," I extended my hand. Dad rolled his eyes as he shook it.

"You're a real piece of work, Dani," I heard Rosalie snicker. I grinned as I ran all the way back to where the bases were, excited to play my first real game of baseball with my family.

* * *

"I have to admit, it's weird seeing you on the other side of the field, little darlin'," Jasper noted when he got up to bat. I winked at him from my spot at first base. He didn't stand a chance and he knew it. Playing as a vampire was much easier compared to playing as a human.

Jasper hit the ball right past Emmett, who quickly recovered and threw the ball to me. I caught it, but not in enough time to get my brother out at first. My victory would have to wait. I threw the ball back to Bella, who was surprisingly pitching for our team. Alice used to pitch, but with Bella's shield, it makes it easier to hide what we're doing from Edward.

"I'm gonna get you out," I challenged him. He nodded.

"Uh huh," he said. I shoved him a little bit.

"Just you try and steal that base, I'll be all-" Before I could finish my sentence, Jasper was off to second. Luckily, Bella and Alice were paying more attention than I was and were able to get him out at second. I groaned. I was really bad at this.

"You've gotta focus, babe," Jake coached from first. He was technically coaching for the other team, but it was more of a formality than anything. Nobody needed coaching, but Mom didn't want to leave Jake and Seth out of the game. Unfortunately, they stuck me right next to my husband.

"Shut up," I growled at him. He backed off.

"You better move ten feet back out there!" Renesmee called, earning laughs from everyone. Edward rolled his eyes from the sidelines. He definitely had his hands full with this one.

"Do your worst, Nessie!" Emmett boomed from behind me. Jasper and Emmett had been working with her just like they used to work with me.

Nessie hit the ball as a grounder to third base where Dad was waiting for it. Being the good grandfather he was, he missed the catch and let the ball fall to the ground, resulting in Nessie being safe at first. I groaned in frustration because we totally could have had the out.

"You're lucky I like you, chomper," I smirked at the bronze-haired beauty beside me. She giggled back.

"It's okay, Aunt Dani. I know Grampa dropped the ball on purpose," she smiled, reaching out and giving me the instant replay.

"Take it while you get it," I told her. "They never let me have any freebies," I whispered.

"Yeah, right!" I heard Edward say from off-field. "We gave you freebies all the time."

"Because I was human!" I argued. "I'm sorry you may have had to go at a human pace once or twice in order for me not to have a complex. Renesmee can run as fast as any of you!"

"You're just jealous," Jake pitched in. "Don't listen to her, Ness."

"It's okay, I'd drop the ball for you, Aunt Dani," she smiled, hugging me.

"You're the best, chomper," I smiled back at her. This kid was going to be the death of me.

 **A/N:** **Thank you Clarinetgoddess62 for the suggestion! As always, let me know what you all want to read and thank you for the support!**


	13. Me Too

**Summary:** Fourteen-year-old Danielle decides to tell her family about her first boyfriend - Andrew.

ME TOO

"Who's Andrew?" Edward asked me while I was eating dinner. I looked up at him wide-eyed. I didn't even realize I was thinking about Andrew. I was usually more careful than that.

"He's just a guy from Show Choir Ed, back off," I warned him. I didn't want Emmett or Jasper hearing him. When it came to boys, Edward was actually the most reasonable.

"He doesn't sound like just a guy," Edward smirked, sitting down beside me. I closed the book I was reading.

"I'm not supposed to get in trouble for things I don't say out loud," I stuck my tongue out at him. "I plead the fifth."

"True," Edward acknowledged, standing back up. "But you're blushing," he pointed out before walking away. I rolled my eyes. Brothers were _so_ annoying.

* * *

"Alright," I took a deep breath. After Edward's prodding earlier, I decided to just come clean to my family about Andrew. For one, Alice had probably already seen us together, never mind the fact I was going to have to ask my parents to go to Andrew's for dinner next week. I felt calm fall over the room and silently thanked Jasper. I was worked up enough for all of us.

"Dani, just say it!" Alice smiled, squeezing Jazz's hand. I rolled my eyes. There was the answer to whether or not Alice knew about us.

"Okay, here goes nothing. I have a boyfriend," I spat out quickly. Emmett's eyes widened and I saw my mom and dad quickly share a glance. Alice cheered and Rosalie clapped. Edward rolled his eyes, probably at something someone thought, and Jasper shook his head.

"You're too young," Emmett mumbled. "You're an infant."

"I'm fourteen, actually," I corrected, causing Rosalie to chuckle. "I'm in high school now. People date in high school."

"Not you," Jasper added. Emmett high-fived him.

"Who's the boy?" Rosalie asked excitedly. "Do I know him?"

"His name is Andrew," Edward smiled. "He's a sophomore in Dani's Show Choir class. For a human he isn't bad," Edward admitted.

"He's a boy. That makes him bad," Emmett growled.

"Emmett," Dad calmed him, then turned to me. "What do you mean by boyfriend, sweetheart?" He asked.

"Well, he kind of asked me out today. We are partners in Show Choir and he is just fun to be around. We like a lot of the same stuff, so he invited me to dinner at his house next week. I was going to ask you, but Edward found out about it all earlier and I figured I should just tell you all at once," I got out in one breath. Dad chuckled.

"I'm not saying no," he smiled. "I just want some more information, that's all."

"Carlisle, it's not like he's taking her to Seattle, they're just having dinner," Mom encouraged him. "Let her have some fun."

"Are his parents going to be there?" Dad asked.

"His mom is. Andrew is actually cooking for both of us, I think," I explained. "They're Italian."

"Well, now I know how you were sold," Jazz teased. I just glared at him.

"We need some more details on the actual date and I will be meeting Andrew at some point before he takes you out formally, but if Edward approves, I trust his judgement," Dad smiled. "You look very happy, love."

"I am," I smiled. I was finally fitting in at Forks High. Things were great.

"I think we will all be meeting this Andrew on Monday," Emmett grumbled under his breath, thinking I wouldn't hear him.

"You leave him alone," I warned, pointing. Rosalie nodded, rubbing Emmett's back.

"I'll keep him away," she promised. I mouthed a thank you to her.

"I'm so excited for you, Dani!" Alice cheered, pulling me into a hug. I patted her back awkwardly.

"Thanks, Alice," I said with much less enthusiasm. "I'm glad you approve," I chuckled.

"Oh, I've seen you two together. He is so good for you!" Alice smiled.

"How long have you known?" I asked her, stepping away.

"Oh, only for a day or two. Andrew needed to make the decision to ask you to dinner. Once that happened, it opened up a whole new world for you," She nudged. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"It's all I've been hearing about," he complained. "Silly me thinking I could change your path, little darlin'," he drawled. Alice shook her head.

"You should know better by now, Jazzy," she chastised him. He shrugged.

"We're still going to have a chat with him on Monday though, right?" Emmett asked, disheartened now that everyone was on my side.

"Oh yes," my siblings all agreed, then laughed at my horror.

"He's already terrified of you guys, if that is any consolation," I told them, finally taking a seat next to my mom.

"Good, let's keep it that way," Emmett said and Edward high-fived him.

"Edward, I thought you were on my side!" I whined.

"I am on your side, which is why I want Andrew to be afraid of us. If he's afraid, he will treat you with respect," Edward reasoned.

"Ugh, I live with a bunch of old white guys!" I complained, earning more laughter from my family. Of course, they found humor in my misery.

* * *

"Be nice," I warned my siblings when we got out of our cars. I could already see Andrew waiting for me next to Tyler and Mariana, another girl in my grade, but he didn't see me yet. I took a deep breath.

"It's going to be fine, little darlin', relax," Jasper said from behind me. I groaned. This was going to be awful.

"Andrew!" Emmett yelled, approaching the group. Tyler looked to me, panicking, while Andrew turned three shades whiter.

"Emmett!" I hissed before standing beside Andrew.

"You told them?" He gulped. I nodded.

"Edward is very observant," I lied. "I didn't have much of a choice," I admitted. I really didn't.

"Look, guys, I don't want any trouble," Andrew put his hands in the air. He was absolutely terrified of them.

"We don't either," Edward reasoned. "Take care of her and there won't be."

"Yeah," Emmett added, but Rosalie smacked him. "Ouch," he whined.

"I plan to, a-absolutely," Andrew stuttered. "I really enjoy spending time with her. Family is everything, which is why I'm introducing her to my mom. I get why you all are defensive."

"Don't screw it up, Anderson," Emmett warned him as the bell rang, walking away. Rosalie squeezed my shoulder on their way by and sent an apologetic look my way. I just sighed.

"It's Andrew," Andrew mumbled as the rest of my siblings glared and dispersed. I looked at Andrew, eyes wide.

"I am so sorry about that," I chuckled. I didn't know what else to do but laugh at this point.

"It's fine. They just love you," Andrew looked around and made sure they weren't in eyesight before pulling me closer to him. "I'm really happy you're my girlfriend, Dani," he smiled. I nodded.

"Me too," I told him, and then went in for my first kiss.


	14. No Means No

**Summary:** After Danielle's first Halloween with the Cullens, she learns the hard way that when Esme says "No," no means no.

NO MEANS NO

"Good morning, baby," Mommy smiled when I went downstairs for breakfast.

"'Morning," I whispered to her, sitting down and rubbing my eyes.

"Did Alice help you get dressed?" Mommy asked, putting a bowl of cereal in front of me. I was confused. It was the day after Halloween, I wasn't supposed to have cereal for breakfast. The morning after Halloween I was supposed to have candy for breakfast.

"I don't want cereal," I whined, ignoring Mommy's question. "I'm supposed to have candy for breakfast today," I told her. Mommy looked at me and I saw Daddy come into the kitchen.

"Who said you were going to have candy for breakfast, love?" Daddy asked me.

"I always have candy for breakfast after Halloween, that way it goes faster," I explained, grabbing a handful from the bowl on the counter.

"No, Danielle," Mommy took the candy from my hand and put it back in the bowl. "I put some candy in your lunchbox, but we are not eating candy for breakfast. If you don't want cereal I can make you something else, but breakfast is supposed to be a healthy meal, remember?"

"But I want candy!" I whined. I was supposed to be able to have candy.

"Danielle," Daddy warned. "Mommy said no. No means no," he said. I glared at him. They didn't know what they were talking about. They probably forgot about all the rules since their babies were all grown up now.

"Fine," I mumbled and took a bite out of the cereal. I was going to get my candy for breakfast.

"Alright," Daddy sighed, petting my head. "I have to go to work. Behave today," he kissed me.

"Bye Daddy," I told him. He kissed Mommy too and whispered something in her ear. She just chuckled.

"Bye, love," he said as he walked out the door. Mommy had her back to me and was cleaning something in the kitchen. While her back was turned, I quickly grabbed my favorite candy – a Twix bar – and put it in my mouth. Mommy quickly turned around and looked at me. She was angry and I knew I was going to be in trouble.

"Danielle," She said calmly. "Did you just take a piece of candy out of the bowl after I told you not to?" She asked.

I shook my head and stopped chewing, trying to hide the chocolate in my mouth.

"Open your mouth," Mommy told me. I knew I was busted, so I just did what I was told. "That's what I thought," she said. She went over to my lunchbox and took out the three pieces of candy she put in there for my lunch. I immediately started crying, resulting in Rosalie running down the stairs.

"What happened?" She asked, picking me up. I cried into her shoulder.

"Danielle ate candy for breakfast even though I told her not to, so I took the candy out of her lunchbox. We can try again tomorrow, but she hasn't earned it for today," Mommy explained, making me cry harder.

"Dani, is that true?" Rosalie asked. I nodded. I didn't think Mommy would catch me. I was wrong.

"My other mommy let me eat candy for breakfast," I sniffed. "It's not fair."

"We talked about this, Dani," Mommy came over. "Your other mommy let you do a lot of things that we don't do anymore. It's not because she was bad, it is just because things are different now. When Daddy or I tell you to do something, we need you to do it."

"I liked my other mommy's rules better," I glared at her. Rosalie tightened her grip on me, but quickly relaxed.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mommy sighed. "It doesn't change anything. Are you done with your breakfast?" Mommy asked me. I nodded. I wasn't hungry anymore. Mommy nodded and cleaned up my cereal.

"Let's go get your backpack," Rosalie smiled, picking me up and walking with me to the door. She helped me get my shoes and my jacket on.

"Do you have your homework?" Rosalie asked me. I nodded.

"Check," I mumbled. This was something we did every day, but today it felt stupid.

"Do you have your pencil case?"

"Check."

"Do you have your smile?" Rosalie teased. I looked up at her and tried not to smile, but the longer I waited the harder it was. Eventually, Rosalie just started tickling me and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Check!" I squealed and Rosalie released me.

"Alright you two," Mommy warned. "We have to go or you're going to be late," Mommy told me. "Say goodbye to Rosalie!"

"Bye, Rosie!" I Eskimo kissed her. It was our thing.

"Bye, sweetie. I hope you have a good day!" She told me.

"I would have a better day with candy," I mumbled on the way out, but one look from Mommy told me I shouldn't have said that.

I stayed quiet the rest of the car ride.

 **A/N:** Thank you to Ashley for the suggestion! I hope this was what you wanted!


	15. Becoming a Woman

**Summary:** Danielle gets her first period.

BECOMING A WOMAN

"Okay, everyone, that is it for today. Have a great weekend and I will see you all on Monday!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Franklin," we chorused as we packed up our belongings. I turned to my best friend who was sitting next to me.

"Are you still going to the movies with Jacob this weekend?" I asked her. She blushed and nodded.

"My mom is coming with us, but it is going to be so much fun. We're going bowling after and everything," she smiled.

"I'm so jealous," I complained. "I can barely even mention boys in my house," I chuckled, standing up. Molly gasped, grabbing my attention.

"Oh my God, what is that?" She pointed to my chair, where there was a giant, red wet spot.

"Ew!" I screeched. I was sitting in _that_? Mrs. Franklin came over. The bell had just rung, so, fortunately, most of the class had booked it out the door.

"What happened?" She asked, then looked at the chair. "Oh my," she said. "Did you spill something?" She asked me. I shook my head and reached down to feel my pants. They were wet.

"I got it on me," I complained. "Great." Someone must have spilt something on my chair when we got back from the library.

"Dani, I think you got your period," Molly whispered to me. I looked at her like she was crazy. How can you get a period when it is a punctuation mark?

"It's okay. Molly, you should get going or you're going to miss your bus. Danielle, why don't you go down to the nurse and get cleaned up. Do you take a bus?" Mrs. Franklin asked me. I shook my head.

"My mom picks me up," I told her. She nodded.

"Okay, I'll give her a call and let her know you're in the nurse. It's going to be fine," she smiled. I was still very confused.

I walked down to the nurse and tried to cover my behind with my backpack. I didn't know what this "period" was, but I sure didn't want anyone knowing what was happening. It looked like I peed my pants, but it was darker.

"Hi, Danielle?" Nurse Winchester said when I walked in. I nodded.

"Here you go, sweetie," she smiled, handing me a pair of pants. "Now, when you go to clean up, you're going to see a lot of blood. It's okay and it is completely normal. Your mom can explain when you get here. Put this on your underwear and it will help keep you clean," she explained. I hesitated.

"Blood?" I panicked. My mom couldn't come in here if there was blood.

"It's okay, sweetie. Every woman goes through it. It's completely normal, just go clean yourself up and let me know if you need any help," Nurse Winchester encouraged. She thought I was freaking out for myself. How was I supposed to explain to her my mom was a vampire?

"Hi, sweetheart," my mom said when she walked into the nurse's office. She tried to come close to me, but I quickly ran into the bathroom with the spare pair of pants Nurse Winchester handed to me and the pad. I locked the door. I tried to ignore the fact my mom could smell all this blood and was probably trying to figure out how not to eat me, and quickly pulled down my pants to begin cleaning myself up.

 _There is so much blood,_ I paled, thinking to myself. How was I ever supposed to go home if I was bleeding this much?

I wiped up as much as I could and changed myself. I put the pad on my underwear. I sat there for a few moments, still panicking when I heard a knock on the door.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Mom asked me. I took a deep breath. Was she in control? My mind flashed back to when Emmett tried to kill me when I fell down the stairs. What would happen now?

"Yeah, I just need a minute," I told her. Would I ever stop bleeding?

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"No!" I shouted, a little more aggressively than I should have. "I'm almost done," I whispered, lying. I would have to come out at some point, or Nurse Winchester would get suspicious. I took a deep breath. My mom wouldn't try to kill me with Nurse Winchester standing there, would she?

"Are you okay?" Mom asked me, pulling me into a hug. I tensed. She didn't seem to be out of control. Her eyes were yellow. Yellow meant safe.

"We should go," I nodded. Mom chuckled and turned to Nurse Winchester.

"Thank you so much, I'll wash the pants and send them back tomorrow," she smiled. Nurse Winchester shook her hand.

"Congratulations, Danielle, you're a woman now," she nodded to me. I gave a weak smile back. This was awful.

As soon as we left and were outside, Mom pulled me away from the crowd.

"You're safe," she promised. "I can't explain everything to you right now, but I can tell you that much. I'm so sorry I never talked about this with you sooner. You're so young," she ran her fingers through my hair. "We can talk more when we get home, but you don't need to be scared. I won't hurt you," Mom said. She looked so sad having to explain that to me.

"Okay," I agreed hesitantly. I hated feeling this way around her, but I was raised in a family where I needed to be afraid of blood, and there was _so much of it_.

* * *

"Is anyone else home?" I asked when we pulled in the driveway. The ride was mostly silent.

"Alice saw what happened and your siblings went hunting to give us some privacy. Daddy should be home soon in case you have any questions," Mom explained. "I can help as best I can, but I'm a little outdated," she admitted sheepishly.

"What is even happening?" I asked her.

"We'll talk inside," she smiled. "Nothing is wrong with you, I promise," she squeezed my shoulder. _Yeah,_ I thought. _People keep saying that._

* * *

"That's disgusting," I groaned when my mom made me look at another diagram online. This was disgusting. Everything about a period or menstruation or the crimson tide or whatever the hell this was called was disgusting. Mom chuckled.

"It's definitely handled a lot differently from when I was your age," she smiled.

"Wait, this doesn't happen to you anymore?" I asked in awe. What a life. Mom shook her head.

"When we turn, we stop menstruating," she explained.

"Turn me," I whispered. I didn't want this to happen again. This was terrible. Mom chuckled.

"Not for quite a while, baby," she kissed the top of my head. We heard the door open, but I couldn't stop staring at the computer screen.

"My baby girl is all grown up," Dad smiled, pulling me into a hug. I quickly shut the computer screen so he wouldn't see the images on it. It was bad enough I had been sitting here getting the full rundown with my mom for a half-hour, I didn't need to hear it from my dad, too.

"Don't be embarrassed, love," Mom encouraged. "He's a doctor."

"He's my dad," I groaned. "Can I be excused, please?" I asked.

"Do you know how to use a pad?" Dad asked. I nodded, eyes wide.

"Tampon?" My eyes widened even further.

"Dad!" I yelled. This was a disaster. I just wanted to take a shower and forget about all of this. Both of my parents just laughed at me.

"Let me know if the cramping gets too bad," Dad warned. "Or if you have any questions!" He added as I ran away and up the stairs. I stopped halfway up. I did have one question that mom didn't answer.

"Why don't you all want to eat me when I'm on my period?" I questioned. I heard Dad chuckle.

"It's dead blood. It is not nearly as tempting or appealing," Dad answered.

"Is it uncomfortable?" I walked back down the stairs, intrigued.

"No more than a usual day," Mom answered.

"Will Jasper be okay?" I wondered.

"Jasper will be fine. It's only for a few days," Dad answered. "If he isn't he can go somewhere where he is more in control. Any of your siblings have that option, they know that."

"Wait, they _know_?" I gasped, completely horrified. Emmett was never going to let me hear the end of this.

"They will respect your privacy," Mom assured me. I groaned and began to make my way back up the stairs.

When I got to my room, I saw my desk was showered with red paper. On each paper, there was a note from each of my siblings celebrating my "womanhood." _So much for respecting my privacy._

 **A/N:** Thank you to Clarinetgoddess62 for the prompt! I hope you all are enjoying the story! With this particular chapter, I want to add that I do not in any way believe that having your period is what determines whether or not you are a woman. There are plenty of situations where people don't menstruate and are still just as much a woman as people that do. This was just my interpretation of how it would go with Dani and the Cullen clan. Thank you all for reading!


	16. My Jacob

**Summary:** Centuries into the future, Jacob dies suddenly of a cardiac arrest.

MY JACOB

"Dani, there's nothing else I can do, baby," Dad told me. I shook my head.

"No," I told him. "There has to be something else. You have to be able to do something else."

"He had a beating heart, love. Sooner or later, his heart was going to stop beating," Dad tried to explain, coming closer. I didn't want anyone to come closer. I was falling apart. This wasn't okay. None of this was okay.

"He was immortal," I choked out. "When I became immortal, he was supposed to be immortal too. That's what you said, that's what you said!" I yelled at him, angry. "You're a fucking doctor, why couldn't you save him?"

"It doesn't work that way, sweetheart," Dad tried to reason with me, but I wasn't going to listen to reason today. Reason could wait. Today, I was allowed to be upset. I was allowed to be angry.

"I want him back," I cried. "Make him come back. Bite him, do something!" I continued to sob. I couldn't feel anything except the gaping hole in my chest. The hole that told me he wasn't coming back, no matter how much I yelled or cried.

"I can't," Dad came and pulled me into a hug. I tried to fight him off, but he was stronger than me. It was the only time I wished I still had my newborn strength. Some sick and sadistic part of me wanted to hurt him.

"I want him back," I sobbed. It was disgusting and I couldn't even have the relief of tears. I hated this. I hated this so much. There was one person in the entire world I wanted and he wasn't here.

"Is Seth going to die too?" I heard Nessie whisper from somewhere else in the house. My breath caught at the thought of Nessie having to go through what I was going through.

"We didn't know, baby. We had no way of knowing," Dad tried to explain to me again, but I didn't want to hear excuses. I just wanted my Jacob back.

"I want to see him," I stood up, ripping myself away from my father's arms. My Jacob and I had been through everything together. I wanted my Jacob.

"I don't think that's a good idea, love," Dad pressed, but once again, I wasn't going to be reasonable today.

"I just want to see him. One more time," I begged. One more time in his arms. One more time seeing his precious face. One more time holding his hand. I just wanted one more time. Over a hundred years and I still wanted more time.

"He won't be warm anymore," Dad told me, making me look up at him. "He will be pale. He won't look like Jacob. He won't feel like Jacob. You won't forget the way you will see him. The decision is yours, but I don't think you want to remember him looking the way he looks right now."

"I didn't think he was going to die," I cried again. "We didn't have enough time. I don't know how to live without him," I collapsed, the pain shooting through my core again. I couldn't do this. I couldn't live without him.

"I know," Dad whispered, pulling me back to him. He didn't know, though. Mom was still alive. He still had his person. His wife. His best friend. Mine was gone. Mine died without any warning. Just fucking collapsed. Now he wasn't going to wake up.

I was never going to feel warmth again – no human would ever get close enough, not that I would ever want them to. I was never going to see his bright smile or hear his obnoxious laugh. I would never be able to tease him for being an idiot or for eating too much or snoring too loudly. All of our inside jokes about my family – gone with the wind. Gone with my Jacob.

We were supposed to be heading back to Forks soon. It was going to be different, because all of our friends and family had passed, but we were supposed to be going home. Sam and Embry's grandchildren were going to be able to meet us and we were going to speak with the council. We were going to visit Billy and Charlie and go through the mourning process together. I didn't think I could go back there now.

"Dani," My mom pulled me out of my thoughts, resting her hand on my back. I jumped. "We need to know what you want to do next."

"Esme," Dad hissed at her. I was shocked. I had never heard him speak to anyone that way. "Now isn't the time," he said in a softer tone. She nodded and walked back out.

"What am I going to do?" I gasped. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My air, my source of life was gone.

"You're going to mourn," Dad told me. "You're going to say goodbye, however you need to. You're going to let Jacob rest. Then, you're going to keep living, because Jacob would never want you to give up on yourself. You're going to do what you need to in order to keep moving forward, because that is what he would want for you."

"That's bullshit," I choked. "He's going to haunt my ass," I tried to joke, but it just resulted in another sob fest. "I don't know how to do this," I broke.

"It's okay," Dad rubbed my back. "We're going to help you."

* * *

We had Jake cremated. I wasn't sure if that was what he wanted or not, but I thought it would be nice if we could bring him home with us. We didn't know he could die.

It was a strange ceremony, but I think Jake would have been happy with it. Nessie and Alice helped to organize it while Mom and Dad were on standby in case I tried to kill myself. In their defence, I thought about it. It must have tortured Edward how many times I thought about running into that fire with Jake. I was grateful, though. He didn't say anything. If anyone could understand what I was going through, it was him. He was the only one who knew what it was like to think the love of your life was dead. Only, he was lucky. His wasn't.

We took Jake back to Forks with us. We moved back into the old house, which apparently was haunted now. At night, I could hear the howls of the wolves. I screamed in agony the first time because, for a moment, I thought it was all a bad dream, and the howls were Jake's. When I realized they couldn't be, the pain cut me like a thousand swords.

I kept Jake in an urn in my old bedroom for a few days before bringing him to the cliff where we used to spend time together. We didn't have enough time together. I opened the urn and let half of him fall out into the ocean. He loved cliff diving so much, I could even picture him jumping as the ashes fell. Seth was with me, sobbing the entire time. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of peace knowing that Jake was free.

The rest of Jake I laid at Billy's grave. Jake would want to be with his dad. I was happy they were finally reunited. It nearly killed Jake when Billy died, especially since we were so far away. I smiled a little, knowing that Jake was finally with his mom again, too. He was probably thrilled that he could meet my birth mom, anyways. My Jake couldn't be sad if he was with his family.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked me. The urn was empty now, as was my heart. I felt like every time I left Jake somewhere, I left a part of myself with him.

"I don't know where to go from here," I admitted. I was glad no one else was around. Seth understood it all, on some level.

"Nessie's freaked out. She thinks I'm going to drop dead now," Seth tried to tease. I nodded.

"At least she knows," I sighed.

"Don't you think it's almost better, though? That you two didn't? You guys just went for it. You know, even back when death was around every corner for you two. You never let the doom and gloom get to you. You just kept at it," Seth mused. I nodded absently.

"It hurts, Seth," I told him. "I miss him so much."

"I'm sure he misses you, too," Seth pulled me into a hug. "I also know he hated seeing his girl cry."

"How can I not? He was my life, Seth. For two hundred years he was my heart, my soul, and my reason for living," I cried. "He was my Jacob."

"Well, I don't know how to be Jacob – I don't think anyone can be," Seth joked again, "But I know how to be an imprint. I guess while I'm still around I can do my best to fill Jake's place as your best friend, at least."

"I'd like that," I smiled. Seth was already as close to being my best friend as you could get without being Jake.

"Just don't call me your Seth or Nessie will get pissed," Seth chuckled. I laughed with him.

"Nah, I would never do that," I promised. "You're still her Seth."

"And he's still your Jacob," Seth promised me. "He's not going anywhere."

"My Jacob," I smiled and ran my fingers through the dirt one last time. _I love you_ , I thought.

Together, Seth and I got up to leave, and for one short moment, I thought I heard the sky whisper _I love you, too_.

 **A/N:** Oof, that was a tough one to write! I hope you all are enjoying this story! I promise I will make the next one happier :)


	17. Busted

**Summary** : Danielle gets busted at her first high school party.

BUSTED

"Don't answer that," I told Andrew, trying not to break our kiss for too long. We had been making out for a while now, but I didn't want it to stop just yet.

"It's Justin," Andrew mumbled, in a similar predicament that I was in.

"Then definitely don't answer it," I argued. Justin ruined enough of our "moments" when we were at school. I was finally alone with Andrew without my siblings freaking out, I didn't want him to ruin it.

"Hello?" Andrew answered the phone anyways and I groaned in response. I should have known better. The two of them were inseparable.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a few minutes," Andrew told him.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, but he just waved me off. "Andrew!" I hissed.

"Yeah, I'll pay her back if she can get some stuff, hold on," Andrew paused, then turned to me. "Dani, what do you drink?" I looked at him confused.

"Like, water?" I asked him. Andrew just chuckled.

"Oh my God, you're so innocent," he smirked. "I meant for an _adult beverage_ ," he emphasized. My eyes widened.

"Andrew, we can't-" I started to argue, but he cut me off with his mouth. He pulled away only to answer Justin.

"Just grab some twisted teas and buds. I guarantee Fiona will be able to get something girly she'll drink if she doesn't like any of that," Andrew spoke into the phone, wrapping his arms around me. "We'll be there soon."

"What was that all about?" I questioned once Andrew got off the phone.

"We're going to a party," Andrew answered. "Your first, I'm assuming."

"Well, yeah," I scoffed. "I have five older siblings that are going to be _very_ pissed off when they find out you're corrupting me. Never mind my parents!" I was in such deep shit.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Just tell them you're sleeping over Fi's or something," Andrew argued. "Have some fun for once. You deserve a break."

"Who else is going to be there?" I asked him as we pulled out of the empty lot. He just shrugged.

"Just some choir and theater people. No one you don't know. It's Forks, Dani. Nothing bad is going to happen," Andrew tried to comfort. _Yeah, okay._ I thought to myself. _You don't live with vampires._

* * *

We got to Fiona's house fairly quickly. I looked around to make sure I didn't recognize any of the cars and it seemed safe for now. Alice must be distracted by something.

"Dani, chill," Andrew chuckled. "You're gonna love this," he smiled, kissing my head and pulling me close. I took a deep breath before we walked inside.

"Dani!" Fiona called out. "Andrew!" She kissed him on the cheek and hugged me. "I'm so glad you could make it! Drinks are in the kitchen, make your own and if you drink you're sleeping over. Mason is going to be here soon with some reinforcements. Sorry for the late notice, this all kind of came on quickly."

"It's no problem," Andrew told her. "We were right around the corner anyways. Besides, I have a feeling drunk Dani is going to be hilarious."

"Oh, this is Alex," she said, ignoring Andrew and picking up her phone. "Have fun!" She called as she walked away. There was already at least ten people at her house and I was certain more were coming. The lights were overwhelming and the music was loud.

"Come on," Andrew pulled me into the kitchen where, fortunately, it was a little quieter. "Are you okay?" Andrew asked me as he pulled out some drinks from the cabinet.

"I'm fine," I lied. I would have rather we stayed making out in the empty parking lot.

"You'll be even better once you have one of these," he suggested, handing me a drink. I took one sip before nearly spitting it out.

"What the fuck!" I yelled, causing Andrew to laugh even harder.

"Yeah, that's the kick," he smiled. "Take another sip and really try to taste it," he encouraged. I did what I was told and took another sip. Ignoring the fire of the vodka, it really didn't taste all that bad. Andrew was a good bartender.

"Right?" He asked, reading my face. I smiled.

"You did good," I told him, kissing his lips. He chuckled.

"Just make sure you don't put it down anywhere and don't let anyone but me or Justin make your drinks. If anything happens to you, I'm a dead man," Andrew warned. "In fact, you might just want to stick to bottles once people start really showing up."

"Where did Fiona get all this?" I questioned, pointing to the various amounts of liquor in the kitchen.

"Her parents supply her. Well, they supply themselves and then leave. It kind of sucks, but she's thrown some good parties," Andrew explained.

"Wow," I mused. I couldn't even imagine. My parents barely let me eat junk food never mind drink alcohol. I was going to be so dead when they found out about this.

"Bottoms up," Andrew said from behind me, holding up his glass.

"Bottoms up," I agreed. They could kill me tomorrow. Tonight, I was going to have some fun.

* * *

"Hi, I'm looking for Danielle Cullen," I heard someone say from the doorway.

"Alice!" I cheered. I had been dancing on one of the tables, Andrew behind me. I started to climb down, but instead just toppled over. Everything was blurry at this point.

"Dani!" She exclaimed, pushing her way inside the party, which now had at least forty occupants, towards where I was. She helped me off the floor. "Are you drunk?" She asked me, probably smelling the alcohol. I smiled and nodded.

"Drunk as a skunk," I giggled. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Jazz is in the car. We're going home," she told me, taking my arm. I shook my head.

"I'm not done here, yet," I argued. "I want to dance."

"You _are_ done," Alice hissed. "We're going home." She looked kind of scary and I could tell she was really mad, but I didn't want to leave.

"Why can't you just let me have fun for once?" I complained. "I always have to do what you all want. Why can't I just be human for a night?" Alice looked around wide-eyed. I quickly realized what I said. "Oops," I covered my mouth and giggled a little again. Alice's face was funny when she was mad.

"You can walk to the car yourself or so help me I will get Jasper and he will carry you out," Alice spoke under her breath. If I wasn't so close to her I wouldn't have been able to hear her.

"I'm not going anywhere," I stuck out my tongue and turned to walk away, but Alice's grip on my arm tightened, causing me to flinch.

"Ouch, Alice!" I whined. That really hurt. Her grip loosened, but she didn't let go.

"Start walking or I'll break your arm," she warned. I looked up at her. She couldn't possibly be serious? She raised her eyebrows as if to question my judgement. I wanted to call her bluff, but I didn't want to draw any more attention to the two of us. I sighed and stumbled my way to the door.

"I have to say goodbye to Andrew," I complained as I was on my way out. Alice shook her head.

"Not a chance," she told me. I groaned.

"I'm not a fucking child," I mumbled under my breath.

"Excuse me?" She asked, turning once we were outside.

"I said I'm not a fucking child!" I yelled. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Danielle, get in the car," I heard Jasper say affirmatively. _Great, now the hardass is going to start in on me._ I rolled my eyes and got into the back seat, leaning my head against the cold window.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been?" Alice started once we were on the road. "We had no idea where you were, what you were doing, or who you were with. What if something happened? What were you going to do?"

"I told you I was with Andrew," I mumbled. I was starting to feel the negative effects of drinking now that I was in a moving vehicle. Alice sighed and handed me a bag.

"You were also supposed to be home two hours ago," Alice pointed out. "You are so lucky Carlisle and Esme are out hunting. Edward wanted to come get you himself, but I told him not to. We can't draw this much attention to ourselves, Dani, you know this. You're smart, use your head."

"God forbid I try to be human for once," I grumbled. Alice stole a glance at Jasper.

"You can be human and still be safe," Jasper spoke softly. He had to understand how frustrated I was feeling right now. "What you were doing was certainly not being safe. You could have gotten hurt, or worse."

"I don't need a lecture," I told him. "I was fine. I had everything under control, I was just having some fun with my friends."

"Oh, those were your friends?" Alice asked, turning. "The guy twerking on the bush, that is your friend? The two girls making out half naked in the hallway while being filmed, they're your friends? These people are not good company, Danielle. You know who wasn't there? Tyler. Tyler Newton wasn't there. _He_ is a good friend."

"Who are you to say who I can and can't be friends with?" I scoffed. "It's not like _you_ have any."

"Dani," Jasper warned. My comment wasn't fair and I knew that, but I didn't care. My filter was wiped away with beer number three. I was out for blood now.

"We're going to go back to the house. You're going to take a shower and you're going to go to bed. In the morning, you are going to call Carlisle and Esme and explain to them your decision making. I don't want to hear another word from you tonight," Alice whispered, facing forward.

"Fine," I smirked. Jasper sent me a warning glance from the rearview mirror. I meant what I said. I wasn't a child anymore and they couldn't treat me as one.

* * *

"Dani, can I come in?" I heard Jasper ask from the hallway. I groaned. I had just gotten out of the shower and my head was pounding. I didn't really want to talk to any of them right now.

"You will anyway, so I don't see why you're even asking," I said, fluffing one of my pillows before laying down. Jasper set a glass of water on the nightstand and sat down on the end of the bed.

"What you did tonight was stupid," he told me. I rolled my eyes. I thought they were done with the lectures.

"You are fourteen, Dani. Like it or not, you are still a child, especially to us. You really scared us when you didn't come home. I know you want to be with your friends and I know you want to have fun, but not like that. You want to be human, you have to take care of yourself. We love you, little darlin', we just want what's best for you."

I didn't say anything, I just closed my eyes. I was going to be in enough trouble in the morning. I didn't want to deal with it now. Jasper leaned over and kissed me on the forehead before leaving my room. I sighed and let myself fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" I tried to calm my boyfriend down enough to figure out what he was trying to say. All I could get out of him was that something happened to Mason, one of the seniors in our choir.

"We tried to tell him not to go home, but he has his sisters you know? It just…holy shit they think he's going to fucking die, Dani," Andrew sobbed on the phone. My heart skipped a beat. Mason drove home drunk. He got in a car wreck and was now laying brain dead in Forks Hospital.

"Are you at the hospital?" I asked him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I had to um…I had to be here for his mom. She called me, she didn't know what to do," he explained. "I came over early this morning. God, Dani, I just…fuck."

"It's going to be okay," I comforted him. I didn't know what else to say. Mason was like a big brother to him. I didn't know him that well, he was a senior, but I still felt a bit of that guilt that he was gone.

"I'll call you when I know more," Andrew whispered into the phone. I nodded.

"I'm so sorry, babe," I told him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he told me before hanging up. I looked over at Alice, who was standing sheepishly in the corner.

"Did you know?" I asked her, unable to bring myself to look up from the ground.

"Yes," she said, softly. "I wanted to tell you, but-"

"But it wouldn't have been fair," I finished for her. "Is that why you were so mad last night?" Alice nodded.

"I didn't know he was going to drive home under the influence until he made the decision, of course, but I kept seeing so many bad things happen to so many good people. I didn't want you to be a part of any of that. I overreacted, I know," I didn't let her finish because I walked over to her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, leaning my head into her. I was almost as tall as she was. Dad thought I would soon be taller.

"You're right, you know," Alice pet my head fondly. "We do treat you like a child sometimes. More so than you deserve, but we do it because the thought of losing you is more than we can bear. Having you homeschooled was so easy compared to this," Alice chuckled.

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised her, wiping away a tear. "I'll always be here. I promise," I stuck out my pinkie like we used to do when I was younger. Alice smiled and wrapped her pinkie around mine.

"I promise to be there for you, too. For when you're being stupid," Alice told me. "Also, I talked to Mom and Dad last night," Alice added. My face paled.

"Oh no," I shuddered. I was in so much trouble.

"They're just glad you're okay. They said you aren't in trouble as long as you make sure it doesn't happen again," Alice explained.

"You're amazing," I told her. She shrugged.

"I know," she smirked. "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Alice."

 **A/N:** Thank you to Kimmy for the suggestion. Bekah, yours is coming next! Thank you all for all the love and support, I am so happy you are enjoying these one-shots! Let me know what else you want to read!


	18. Just a Princess

**Summary:** Five-year-old Danielle and Esme go Christmas shopping, but Danielle wanders off and gets lost.

 **Just a Princess**

"Mommy, where are we going?" I asked curiously from the back seat. It was snowing out and the roads looked pretty.

"We have to go pick up Christmas gifts for the boys," Mommy smiled, looking at me through the mirror. I gave her a big smile back.

"Is Santa bringing them toys, too?" I questioned. Santa brought me toys every Christmas. Emmett liked playing with toys, so I was sure he was going to get a lot of them.

"I'm sure Santa will bring them some toys, yes," Mommy smiled. "You had a big list this year," she noted.

"I wanted to make sure Santa knew that I had a new house this year," I told her. "I thought if I wrote a lot it meant he would have to read it all."

"I suppose that makes sense," Mommy chuckled. "Is that why you asked Daddy for our address?"

"Yup," I popped the P. "If Santa brings my presents to Chicago, I won't get them for a long time."

"Well, I hope Santa reads your letter then," Mommy smiles, pulling into a parking spot. She comes around to unbuckle me, but makes me look at her. "Now Dani, the store is going to be very busy. I need you to stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. "There are cars here, so I need to hold your hand too, right?"

"Good girl," Mommy smiled, taking my hand and I jumped out of the car. While we were walking, I held Mommy's hand and tried to catch snowflakes in my mouth. Daddy didn't like it when I did it because he said the snow was yucky, but Mommy didn't mind. It was our secret.

"Wow, this store is huge!" I gasped once we went inside. It was bright and there were a lot of pictures everywhere. It was very Christmas-y.

"Yes, it is," Mommy smiled. "Come along, sweetheart," she said as she pulled me towards where the presents were.

* * *

Mommy spent a long time looking at the different car stuff for Emmett. It was boring. I tried to sit down, but Mommy yelled at me. I knew there were toys an aisle over, but Mommy already told me we weren't here to look at toys for me.

"Danielle, please stay where I can see you," Mommy warned again, turning to another item on the rack. I groaned. I wish I stayed home with Jazzy.

"Peek a boo!" I shouted, running up behind Mommy. She chuckled and ruffled my hair, but kept looking for Emmett's present. I ran back down to where I was before and when Mommy turned her head again, I ran up the next aisle to the other side and popped out beside Mommy.

"Peek a boo!" I cackled again. Mommy didn't laugh this time.

"Danielle, I really need you to stay in this aisle," she warned. I nodded and went back to my spot.

Eventually, Mommy found what she was looking for and we moved on to a book aisle where Mommy was looking for Jazzy's gift. I hated books, mostly because I didn't know how to read. Edward and Jazzy kept trying to teach me, but it was too hard.

I glanced across the aisle and found a Belle princess doll. It was the same one that I asked Santa for. Mommy had already told me I needed to stay where she could see me, but if I could see Belle from here, Mommy would be able to see me if I was with Belle. I quickly ran across the middle aisle and to where the dolls were.

It was like being in Disney World, but at a store. There were dolls everywhere! There was someone in a red uniform that was putting the dolls back in their spot.

"Do you have a favorite princess?" I asked the man. He gave me a weird look, like when I ask Edward why he doesn't like the color pink, but answered my question anyways.

"Uh, I guess this one," he shrugged. I nodded.

"That's Ariel. She's a good choice. She sings really well," I explained to him. He probably liked her because she didn't wear a shirt. Emmett had a lot of pictures of girls without shirts, but Rosalie always yelled at him for it.

"Do you have a favorite?" The man asked me back. I nodded.

"Belle. She's the smartest. She can read, even if I can't," I told him. He chuckled.

"How old are you, kid?" He asked me. I held up five fingers.

"I'm five," I told him. "Someday, I'll be old enough to be a princess."

"I'm sure all of these princesses were five once," he smiled. "Did you come here with your parents?"

"I came here with my Mommy," I explained. "She's over there," I pointed to where the books were, but when I looked, she wasn't there anymore. "Uh oh," I mumbled.

"What's the matter?" The man asked me. "Isn't that your mom?" He pointed to another woman with blonde hair like mine who was standing in the aisle. I shook my head.

"No!" I started crying. I should have listened to Mommy. "I'm adopted," I told him. "My mommy doesn't look like me."

"Okay, okay," he said, dropping the dolls and grabbing my hand. "Don't worry, we'll find her. Do you know your mommy's name?" I nodded.

"Esme Cullen," I recited. He nodded and grabbed his radio. "Come on, let's walk around and see if we can find her," he suggested, taking my hand. With his other hand, he pressed down on the radio button and spoke into it, "Hey guys, I got a lost kid here. She's five years old, blonde, and likes Disney princesses. She's looking for her mom, the name is Esme Cullen."

"I got the mom at electronics," someone responded. The man nodded and said something back, but I was too busy looking around for Mommy. She was going to be so angry.

* * *

"Danielle!" I heard Mommy scream before running over to me. She ran too fast and hugged me too tight, but I didn't care.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I squealed. I didn't want her to be mad like Daddy used to get. He would hurt Mommy when he got really mad.

"It's okay, baby," she promised, brushing my hair back. "Thank you so much," she said to the man I was with.

"She was brave," he chuckled. "Just like a princess. I'm glad everything worked out, ma'am."

"Thank you," Mommy said again, holding me close. "I told you to stay in the aisle," she scolded.

"I'm sorry," I pouted again. "Does this mean I have to go back to Chicago?" I questioned carefully. I would hate myself if I had to go back because of this. Mommy's eyes went wide.

"No, baby, no," she held me even tighter. "There is no amount of trouble you will ever get in that will make me not want to be your mother. You are never going back there, I promise," she squeezed me.

"Too tight," I told her. This time, she was hurting me. She pulled away.

"Come on, let's go check out and then go home," she smiled, taking my hand.

"Are we going to tell Daddy about this?" I asked her. Daddy would definitely be mad.

"I think this is a story we can keep between the two of us, honey," Mommy sighed. I nodded. Looking at princesses was fun, but it wasn't worth losing my new mommy over.

 **A/N:** Here you go, Bekah! I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this one! I'm sorry I have been falling behind on the updates, this semester at school was hell for me and I needed to focus on academics. I'm off for a month, though, so if you have any prompts send them my way! Thank you all for your support and Happy Holidays!


	19. Fight

FIGHT

"Emmett, I'm going to kill you!" Rosalie yelled from the top of the stairs. I instantly looked up from my failed attempt at playing Chess with Jasper to see what the problem was.

"Babe, I'm sorry!" He called to her, apologizing. I exchanged a glance with Jasper, who just shrugged.

"They fight all the time, you get used to it," Jazzy smiled, turning his attention back to the game. I tried to smile back, but I couldn't ignore the yelling from upstairs. "It's your turn, Dani," Jazz reminded me.

"Right, sorry," I corrected, moving one of my pawns. I had heard Emmett and Rose fight before, but it usually wasn't this bad.

"Look again," Jasper offered. I took a look at the game board and quickly realized that by moving my pawn, I left my queen vulnerable to an attack. I moved my pawn back and instead moved my rook. "There you go, little darlin'," he smirked.

Before Jasper could move, there was a big crash from upstairs. My breath hitched and my body locked up.

"Enough, you two!" I heard Mom call from where she was working in the kitchen. "I don't know what you broke, but you better replace it!"

"Are you okay?" Jazz asked me. I nodded, but it was no use. I couldn't lie to anyone in this house about anything. He nodded before rushing upstairs. Mom noticed and came over to me, pulling me into her arms.

"Your parents fought a lot, didn't they?" She asked, rubbing my arms. I nodded into her chest. It was always really bad and she always ended up getting hurt. She tried to hide it from me, but I wasn't stupid.

"Hey, baby," Rosalie came down, followed by Emmett and Jasper. She came and sat on the other side of me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "I'm okay. I was just upset with Emmett about something, I shouldn't have yelled so much, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I whispered, hoping I would be louder than I was.

"Yeah, buggy. Rosie and I fight sometimes, but you know I would never hurt her, right?" Emmett tried to explain. I could tell he was hurt that I thought he would hurt Rosalie, and I felt bad.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. Mom shook her head.

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetie," she hugged me. I could feel the love surrounding me.

"What was that crash, then?" I asked. Rosalie quickly shot a glance at Emmett, then chuckled.

"That was my fault," she admitted. "The fight was about me losing something that I needed for mine and Alice's night out, and I thought Emmett took it to be funny. I may or may not have damaged some furniture in my search."

"We will try not to fight so much around you, we're really sorry we scared you, bug," Emmett apologized.

"It's okay," I smiled, much more confident this time now that I knew no one was hurt. "Thank you, Jasper," I sent a special smile over to my brother in the corner. He winked back.

"No one here will ever hurt you," Mom promised, squeezing me tight. "We love you, Dani."

"Group hug!" Emmett called out and instantly, I was being squished by four loving vampires.

"Too tight!" I called out. Some things never change.

 **A/N:** A quick one-shot for you all, thank you Stephanie for the suggestion! I changed it from Carlisle/Esme to Rosalie/Emmett, because I just couldn't picture Carlisle and Esme really fighting over anything to the point where Danielle would get scared. I hope that it was okay! Happy New Year everyone and thank you for sticking with me this long!


	20. A Wedding (Part One)

A WEDDING (PART ONE)

"You look like a princess," I smiled, taking a piece of Renesmee's ember locks and running my fingers through them.

"Um, have you seen yourself, Auntie Dani? You all look like goddesses, never mind princesses," my niece argued, clearly frustrated. I chuckled.

"I felt the same way when Jake and I got married," I confessed, smiling.

"How?" Renesmee asked, completely shocked. "You're gorgeous, you always have been."

"I was a human when I got married, Ness. Try placing a human next to Auntie Rosalie and making her the Belle of the ball. I was doomed." I took a deep breath, remembering how nervous I was to marry Jacob, even if I was surrounded by family only. I could only imagine what Renesmee was going through, especially since Bella and Edward were beside themselves.

"I've seen the pictures, Auntie Dani. Auntie Alice did an incredible job."

"Auntie Alice wasn't there," I pointed out, taking the curling iron and getting started on Renesmee's hair. It was the least I could do if we were going to stand here talking. "It was a tough time."

"It's over now," Alice smiled from the doorway. "Look at you two," she admired.

"Grow up, Alice," I teased her. She came and took the iron away from me.

"I think in another life you two were sisters," Alice mused. "You've always been joined at the hip."

"I was the first one to hold you," I smirked. I thought we were going to be human together. I never dreamed that I would be turned only weeks later. "You were so tiny."

"You all had to bring up the baby memories, didn't you," Bella joined in.

"How are you doing mama?" I teased her. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I understand now why Renee was a mess when I married Edward," Bella sighed, turning towards her daughter. "I'm happy for you, darling, I really am, but don't ever put me through this again."

"It's going to be fine, Mom," Renesmee comforted, grabbing hold of her mother's hand. "I've loved Seth my whole life. This is just a formality."

"Formality my ass," Alice scoffed. "This is tradition. Which, speaking of traditions, you still owe me a wedding Mrs. Black," Alice pointed the curling iron at me. I held my hands up in defense.

"And I told you you'd be getting one," I promised. "I just…don't know when that's going to be, yet."

"Hopefully not for a while!" Mom said from the kitchen. Bella nodded.

"Listen to your mother," she pointed at me.

* * *

Unlike my surprise wedding, Renesmee had spent months planning her nuptials with Alice. She had an entire bridal party and we had even flown all the way back to Forks to celebrate with our old friends and family. It was good to be home again.

It was a beautiful spring day, thank God. Alice would have thrown a fit if the weather was anything less than perfect. It was just warm enough for the guests who were human to be comfortable and for the rest of us to not have to pretend to bundle up. The setting was similar to Edward and Bella's wedding, but knowing my niece it likely wasn't a mistake. She adored her parents.

"Wow," Jake commented when I walked outside to where the bridal party was lining up. "You look incredible, baby."

"You don't look so bad yourself. Who helped you tie your tie?" I teased him. He shook his head and pulled me closer, locking his lips with mine.

"Guys, really?" Quil coughed from somewhere behind us.

"You think this is bad, you should live with them," Emmett quipped. I glared at him.

"I can make it a whole lot worse if you'd like?" I challenged them. Both men shut up quickly.

"Okay," Alice came rushing down the back stairs. "Here is the rundown. Nessie's super nervous, so don't screw this up."

"Jacob," I whispered under my breath, earning a few laughs and a nudge from my husband.

"Jacob, Carlisle, and Seth are going to walk in together and stand at the front, which will be the band's cue to start the music. As soon as they begin playing, Bella and Sue will walk down the aisle together. After them, the bridal party will begin. The order should be Rosalie and Emmett, myself and Jasper, Leah and Embry, Quil and Claire, Dani, and then our flower girl, little Emma," Alice smiled, looking at where Sam and Emily's daughter was standing. She looked absolutely adorable in her little pink dress.

"After Emma goes to sit with Emily and Sam, Edward will bring Nessie down the aisle and Carlisle will officiate the wedding. Everything should flow seamlessly into the reception, but if there are any problems we can handle them then. Does anyone have any questions?" Alice asked. Jake raised his hand.

"Where is Seth?" He asked, looking around. There was a moment of panic before the groom himself came out, shoving one of the cookies for the guests in his mouth. Alice looked like she was going to kill him, but Jake just chuckled and went off with Seth and my dad to get ready.

"On that note, I should really go find my niece," I told everyone before disappearing.

* * *

"I don't know if I can do this, Auntie Dani," Renesmee was panicking. Hard. I thought about calling Alice or Bella, but I knew they would make this worse. "How did you do it? I mean, I know he's my imprint and I've loved him forever and I'm always going to love it, but maybe this whole big wedding thing was a bad idea. We should have just done something small in Lebanon and-"

"Nessie, chill," I told her, walking over and taking her hands. "You are gorgeous. You are fierce. You are about to become a married woman. That boy down there? He has loved you since before he knew who you were. When your mom was pregnant he waited on her hand and foot because he couldn't stand to be apart from her. Why? Because he loved _you_. Before Jake and I got together, he _hated_ me. I was annoying and just some dumb human who hung around with vampires. When we got married, I thought he was rushing into it because we were all about to die, but we've been married for twenty years now, Ness. That's longer than most human marriages last. Jake and I almost broke up so many times, but we made it work. If we can make it, you and Seth can make it because you guys are perfect. He adores you and you adore him. You said it yourself earlier. This wedding doesn't change anything, it just makes it official. It puts a title on everything you have ever been and will ever be."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Nessie sniffed. My poor niece was so scared.

"You hold your head high because you were born for this. Today, you don't get to be a princess, Ness. You get to be a fucking queen," I smiled, pulling her into a hug.

"However, your reign won't last very long if we don't head downstairs," I heard Edward say from outside of the door.

"Are you ready?" I asked her, ignoring Edward. "Because if you want to call this off, I will kick everyone out and fly with you to Vegas. Jake would love that."

"Dani!" I heard Edward groan. Renesmee and I both just laughed.

"I can do this. Thank you," she smiled.  
"Hey, that's why I get to be your Maid of Honor," I smirked. "We're the wolf girls, remember?"

"Hell yeah," She chuckled. "Let's go make it official."

 **A/N: Hi everyone! I promise I haven't forgotten about you! I've honestly had a hell of a time coming up with chapter ideas, which is why I haven't updated in a while. If you have any ideas, send them my way so I can keep writing this for you! I am also going to go through the original stories again and make a new list of missing moments :) Peace!**


	21. A Wedding (Part Two)

A WEDDING (PART TWO)

"I can't believe we're getting married again," Jake chuckled, pulling me closer to him.

"It's not really a wedding, Jake. It's a vow renewal," I corrected him.

"Try saying that to Alice."

"Not a chance," I leaned in to kiss him. "Even if this is your fault."

"How is this my fault?" He yelled, breaking apart again. I groaned.

"If you didn't plan that surprise wedding while she wasn't gone, we wouldn't have to go through this again!" I exclaimed.

"Well, if it's so much trouble for you to publicly profess your love to me, then maybe we should just cancel the whole thing!" Jake yelled back, getting sensitive. I rolled my eyes and kissed him again.

"Stop that, you know I love you," I told him.

"Forever?"

"And always."

* * *

"I don't see what was wrong with my first dress," I complained. "It was perfect."

"It was perfect for a beach wedding, this is different," Alice insisted, tying up the corset.

"You're lucky I'm not a human or you would have killed me with this thing by now," I choked. "Does it really need to be this tight?"

"Be lucky you live during a time when you don't have to wear these every day," Alice noted, tying off the corset rather roughly.

"I really wanted you there, Alice," I explained to her. "It was a surprise. You were gone and we all thought we were going to die. Technically, I did."

"It's not your fault, Dani," Alice sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you. I just wish I could have been there to see it the first time."

"I know," I smiled softly. "But you saved our lives," I encouraged her. "And you get to see me today. It's going to be nearly the same thing."

"You look beautiful," she smiled. "Absolutely stunning."

"Of course," I chuckled. "I'm a Cullen."

* * *

"You continue to amaze me every day of this long life," Dad admired when he saw me walk out of my bedroom. "You look stunning, my dear."

"You don't look too shabby yourself, Pops," I teased. I was definitely a lot more relaxed this time around.

"My princess," Mom added, wrapping me in her arms. "Alice sure did a number on you."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm capable of actually breathing right now," I chuckled. "Is Jake still downstairs or did he make a run for it?"

"Oh, he's not going anywhere," Mom assured me, adjusting something on my dress. "You've got him wrapped around your finger, even after twenty years."

"The fool," I smiled weakly. What I did to deserve a man like Jacob Black, I would never know.

 _"_ _You imprinted," I started. "On_ me."

 _"_ _I didn't believe it at first. I_ couldn't _believe it. How could the universe be so cruel to give me the one girl on this earth that I couldn't get close enough to? The one girl who had a stronger tie to my enemies than anyone else? Then, we didn't talk, and I saw you at the store, and I knew. I saw you with your friends and how you weren't afraid of me. Despite knowing at that point how dangerous I could be, despite the stories your family must have told you, you still didn't care. I didn't even realize that during the time we were apart I had forgotten how to breathe, then seeing you again was like a breath of fresh air," Jacob explained._

 _"_ _You're such a_ sap!" _I laughed. Jacob_ loved _me. Jacob_ more _than loved me. He had one hundred percent trust in me. Me, the vampire girl._

 _"_ _You think this is funny," Jacob said, astonished. "You_ would _think this is funny. I just poured my heart to you and you're laughing."_

 _"_ _Jacob, my family is going to destroy you when they find out," I told him._

 _"_ _They probably will," he said. "All I care about is what you're thinking right now."_

 _I was laughing, but my hysteria was hiding the true fear I felt inside that Jacob loved me. The true fear I had inside for what Jacob was asking of me._

 _"_ _I'm thinking that my last boyfriend was a dick and a half," I told him, honestly. "I'm thinking that the last person I loved threw it right back in my face and ran it over backwards because the way I loved him wasn't good enough. I'm thinking that my sister can't see me anymore because my future is intertwined with yours so tight that there are no loopholes, so someday, I'm going to love you as much as you love me, and that's terrifying. It's terrifying because there is no way our two families can work together, and you can never come over to my house for dinner and do all the normal stuff I'm used to doing. It's terrifying because I don't know if I want to_ be _in a relationship right now after everything the past year has thrown at me."_

 _"_ _Danielle, relax," Jacob said, pulling me into a hug. I let him. His touch felt good to me. He started rubbing my back. It felt better than anything I had ever felt before._

 _"_ _Remember what I said?" Jacob asked me after a moment, finally pulling away. "I will be whatever_ you _need me to be. For right now, I'm fine being in the friend zone. Someday, I hope we can be more than that, but only when you're ready. Whatever way you decide to love me, that's going to be the right way for us. This imprinting thing may be supernatural and weird and yeah, we're not going to be able to do the things normal human couples get to do, but when_ have _our lives been normal? You grew up with a family of vampires, and I turn into a werewolf every night," Jacob laughed. I laughed a little bit too, surprisingly._

 _"_ _I guess we're just going to have to be okay with being Romeo and Juliet for a little while," I said softly into his chest. He nodded._

 _"_ _We'll just have a happy ending," he promised._

 _"_ _I could really use one of those," I smiled._

"Earth to Dani!" Alice yelled, pulling me back into the real world.

"Sorry, what?" I asked her.

"Are you ready to do this?" She repeated herself, clearly annoyed.

"Of course," I smiled, reminiscing. Alice just rolled her eyes and raced back down the stairs. Dad took my arm and once we heard the music we began our descent.

"What were you thinking about?" Dad asked as we walked down. There weren't a lot of people here.

"What do you mean?" I questioned him, smirking. He let it go, but I continued to live in my La La Land.

* * *

"Danielle," Jake smiled, massaging my hands in his. "Twenty years ago, I pledged my love and commitment to you, but it seems like only yesterday. I promised to make a shelter of my arms and a hearth of my heart. I promised to be by your side every day and be whatever you needed to be. You have been by my side as we faced more challenges than any vows could predict. In the presence of our family and friends, I renew my vows to you, pledging my eternal love for you, and eagerly awaiting what the rest of our eternal life has to offer."

"Jacob," I smiled, playing with fingers. "Twenty years ago, you ambushed me into a wedding," I joked and the congregation laughed. "I shouldn't have been surprised, because ever since I met you I have been on my toes waiting for the next surprise. You are selfless, kind, and unconditionally loving. On the day we became husband and wife, I vowed to give you one hundred and ten percent of who I am and to be by your side no matter what. In this wide open universe of crazy people, you are the one I fell in love with, and you are the one who agreed to be my husband. Our life has been the best and I vow to make each and every day I spend with you better than the last."

"Jacob and Danielle," Emmett, who once again was presiding our ceremony, began. "On your wedding day, you exchanged rings as a symbol of the never-ending cycle that symbolizes the eternal quality of unending strength and love. May you always wear your rings as a reminder of your wedding vows to each other and your commitment to continue to live in unity, love, and happiness. To remind you of that commitment made on your wedding day, you will now renew your pledge. Jacob, please place your gift of a ring on Danielle's hand with the words, 'With this ring, I renew my pledge of love and commitment.'"

"With this ring," Jake spoke, placing my ring back on my finger. I felt whole again. "I renew my pledge of love and commitment."

"Danielle, please place your gift of a ring on Jacob's hand with the words, 'With this ring, I renew my pledge of love and commitment.'"

"With this ring," I smiled, looking up at Jake while I placed the ring back on his finger. "I renew my pledge of love and commitment."

"Jacob and Danielle, today you have renewed the promises and vows you made to each other on your wedding day. You have symbolized the renewal of the marriage union by the joining of hands, the taking of vows, and by exchanging of rings.

"It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that joined you and forever binds you as husband and wife. Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a sign of affection…" Emmett trailed, reading the closing pronouncement. "You know what, you all might as well just start the reception because these guys are going to be a while," he added on at the end. I rolled my eyes and punched him in the arm.

"Pucker up wolf boy," I teased, leaning in.

"Suck it, Ryan," I heard Jake murmur before meeting my lips. He pulled me closer and lifted me up into his arms. Emmett was right, this was going to last a while.

* * *

"Can you believe it?" I whispered. Most people had spread out and finished with their day. Jake and I were still laying outside, just watching the stars in the sky, getting some peace and quiet.

"That you decided to marry me again? Hell yeah," Jake laughed. I smacked him.

"No," I hissed. "I would marry you every day if I could," I told him. "I'm talking about how we were so sure there wasn't going to be a happy ending."

"What do you mean?" Jake turned to face me, playing with my dress that I still hadn't taken off.

"We were Romeo and Juliet," I explained. "This was never supposed to work."

"I promised you a happy ending," Jacob remembered, nodding. "You deserve a happy ending, Danielle."

"I guess I just never believed it would actually happen," I sighed. "There was the family thing, and then the Newborns thing, and then the Volturi thing, and then I thought for sure you were a goner when I turned…there was just so much stacked against us."

"I meant what I said, Dani," Jake nuzzled my neck. "Forever and always, no matter what baby."

"I don't ever want to live a day without you, Jacob," I kissed him.

"You will never have to," he promised, starting to pull off some of my layers suggestively. "We've got our happy ending, vampire girl."

"It's not over yet, wolf boy," I said as I ripped off the corset. A happy ending was exactly what we were going to have.


	22. Guy's Night

**Summary:** Ryan freaks out after being invited to "Guy's Night" and asks Danielle for some advice.

GUY'S NIGHT

"You can't just take your clothes off in order to make me less mad at you," I growled, watching Jake make another pathetic attempt at a striptease. We were fighting over some stupid human at school who Jake claims was hitting on me, but that I had barely noticed.

"It's working, though, isn't it?" He teased, lips pulling up into that stupid grin of his. We were just getting to the good part when a soft knock on the door interrupted our fun.

"I'll get it," I chuckled, walking over to the doorway. "Ryan, hi," I greeted once I figured out who was on the other side.

"I need your help," Ryan insisted, pushing me into my room in a panic before noticing my husband in the background. " _Mio Dio_ , Jacob, where are your clothes?" Ryan asked completely disgusted.

"Get out," I pushed him back into the hallway and shut the door behind us. "What do you want?" Ryan just groaned and frantically looked for a more private place to talk – preferably without my naked husband. After a moment, he settled for the bathroom and quickly turned the shower on, drowning our voices out.

"What is going on?" I pushed again, growing more concerned for my brother. I jumped to the only logical conclusion. "What did you do?"

"Why do people always assume _I_ did something?" Ryan complained. My eyes widened, eager for him to get on with whatever he needed to ask me. "Anyways, your brothers asked me to join them for a guy's night," He finally spits out. I broke into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Ryan panicked again. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're afraid to go to a guy's night with my brothers? _That's_ why you're so worked up?" I teased him. "You're such a softie!"

"Ah _non capisci una fava*_!" He ran his fingers through his hair. I couldn't believe he was having a mental breakdown over this. "Your brothers _hate_ me. Isn't this what Americans do? They invite you for some "guy's night" and then boom! _Oggi in figura, domani in sepoltura**."_

"I have no clue what you just said," I told him.

"It means I am a dead man," Ryan explained, pacing the bathroom. I just chuckled.

"You've spent too much time with the Volturi, Ry. My brothers are your brothers now. They aren't going to kill you. They're just trying to be inclusive, I promise," I tried to comfort him. As amusing as it was to see Ryan losing his mind, I felt bad he was so scared of my family.

"Then why wasn't – _cazzo***,_ how do you call it - your 'boy toy' invited?" Ryan insisted, wide-eyed.

"It's probably a vampire thing," I noted. "Who else is going to be there?"

"Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and yours truly."

"So no wolves and no Dad?"

"Precisely."

"Dude, they're totally going to haze you," I laughed, falling back into the sink and nearly breaking it. Ryan's eyes widened again and he groaned.

"What do I do? How do I get out of this?" Ryan questioned, grabbing my arms. "You stupid girl, stop laughing!"

"Ryan, listen," I placed my arms on his shoulders, calming him down. "I was kidding. They play poker once a month, just the three of them. They've been doing this at least as long as I've been alive, but no girls are allowed. They go fast - too fast for Seth or Jake to keep up. You're going to be fine, I promise," I held out my pinkie.

"You're a sick witch, you know that?" Ryan glared, taking my pinkie.

"I'm an asshole, shoot me," I chuckled, turning the shower off and walking back out into the hallway. "Are you good now?" I asked him before he could dart off to his room.

"Yes, thank you _principesa_ for your help, as always," Ryan nodded.

"Can I have my wife back now?" I heard Jake shout from the bedroom. Ryan had already disappeared, so I walked back in to find my husband completely naked on our bed.

"You've got to be kidding me," I scoffed, taking in the scene.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," Jake smirked.

"This. _This_ is why you don't get invited to guy's night," I shook my head, unable to ignore my weirdo wolf. I quickly tossed him a pair of shorts he left on my desk.

"Put your clothes back on, you goof," I smiled before crawling into bed with him. I preferred snuggles over sex anyways.

 **A/N:** I did my best with translations, but I don't speak Italian so if any fluent speakers have feedback let me know!

 _*non capisci una fava - You don't understand a broad bean (You don't understand anything, you're stupid, etc.)_

 _**Oggi in figura, domani in sepoltura - Today in person, tomorrow in the grave_

 _***Cazzo - Shit_


	23. Graduation Day

**Summary:** Danielle _finally_ graduates High School.

GRADUATION DAY

"I can't believe this is it!" An annoying girl aptly named Genevieve said from behind me. We were lined up in one of the longer hallways in the school, dressed in our caps and gowns waiting to get the go-ahead to start our graduation procession. "After today, we will be all on our own! Real adults," she kept talking. As if this girl knew anything about the real world.

"Are you and Jacob going to the same college?" Another girl, Nicole asked. I nodded.

"We're going to Colby-Sawyer," I smiled. It was only a half an hour away from Lebanon and Colby-Sawyer was a small enough school that no one from Forks would be there.

"You don't want to go farther away? Don't you have a big family?" Genevieve added on. I shrugged.

"We're pretty scattered. Renesmee is the only one who will still be here," I explained. "We're the youngest."

"I guess that makes sense," Nicole decided. "What does Jacob want to study?"

"Exercise science," I teased. In reality, he was only going for me. If he had his way, he wouldn't spend another day in school.

"That sounds like him," Nicole nodded. "He was always good in gym class."

"Alright kids, listen up!" Our class advisor, Mrs. Blythe called down the hallway. It took a few moments before everyone got the clue, but we got there.

"These are your final moments as students of Lebanon High School. Once you get your diploma, you will officially be alumni. I want you to know how proud we are of you and how excited we are to see where you take your next steps. Look around," Mrs. Blythe paused for effect. "Among you, there are future doctors, lawyers, and maybe even a president or two. Many of you have spent twelve years together, walking the streets of Lebanon. After today, you may not see each other again. Use this time to say what you need to, exchange information, et cetera. You are all going to do amazing things," she explained, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

As she gave her speech, I looked around at all of the faces I had become accustomed to seeing over the past two years. While I was grateful to be leaving, it felt wrong doing this here. I wasn't supposed to be walking with Nicole and Genevieve, I was supposed to be walking with Mariana and Tyler. I wasn't supposed to be graduating as a Lebanon High School Raider, I was supposed to be graduating a Forks High School Spartan.

"This sucks," I whispered, at first not realizing I said it out loud. Nicole nodded in front of me in agreement, wiping her own tears. I could hear _Pomp and Circumstance_ playing from the gymnasium and I knew we were going to start moving shortly.

"Here we go," Genevieve whispered as she noticed the line moving. We were close to the front – all C last names – and fortunately, that meant close to the boys who had Bs for last names. Before our lines split up and we walked into the gymnasium, I stole a glance at Jake, who shot me his trademark goofball grin. I couldn't help but smile back. I was sure he was reliving his own memories of his school back on the reservation and all of the people he should have been with. It was hard to forget that I took him away from his life, too.

As I walked down the poorly made aisle in the gymnasium, I instantly located where my family was sitting. It wasn't hard, as they were screaming fairly loudly. Other families brought air horns that made me cringe. My family didn't need them.

"Welcome parents, students, and special guests," our class president, Sean, greeted. He began his speech, saying similar things to Mrs. Blythe. He made a few dumb jokes, then sat down.

I honestly couldn't focus through most of the speeches. They were typical, cliché, and probably plagiarized from some high-school drama film. After the life I had lived, it was hard to take anything these children said seriously. Age wise, I wasn't much older than them. I was technically nineteen. Mentally, though, I felt as if I had lived a thousand years. Two years of sleepless nights would do that, I guess.

Two years of death, life, love, travel, and education. Two years of reading books while watching the love of my life drool all over my favorite pillows. Two years of trying not to be a monster, instead learning languages, instruments, and life skills in a desperate attempt to pretend I was still human. Jacob convincing me to get a facebook account so that we could stay in touch with the pack. Jacob watching me like a hawk every time I got on said website, because I wasn't the only one who had one and he knew how sad it made me to see my friends at college, living their lives while I had to pretend not to know them. It was too easy to stalk people these days.

Finally, the speeches stopped and I was brought back to reality. The reality that after seven years, albeit with a break in the middle, I was finally going to get a high school diploma. It probably wouldn't be my last, but at least now I had something to work with. I didn't have to hide anymore, because I finally earned something. It was great.

"Danielle Cullen," Mr. Smith said, calling my name. I smiled, walking gracefully up the stairs of the fake stage to grab my diploma. I reached out to shake Mr. Smith's hand, remembering how I practiced with Jake for hours the night before, desperately trying to not be too weak or too strong in my grip. It seemed to have paid off.

I fluttered down the stairs, smiling in the camera. Getting my diploma made me feel more human than I had in a long time.

"You're gonna marry him someday, aren't you?" Nicole whispered to me, noticing how big my smile was watching Jake get his diploma. I turned to her.

"I better," I winked. She had no idea how true she was.

"I hope I find a guy who looks at me the way you two look at each other," she added. "It was one of the first things I noticed about the two of you when you came here. Everyone knew you were his girl and he was your guy."

"Damn straight," I chuckled. "Are you going to throw your cap?" I redirected, noticing the boys were almost done. She nodded, happily. I was glad she was enjoying her moment. While I would likely go through this again, she wouldn't.

"Congratulations to our new graduates!" Mr. Smith said and the cheers erupted. Nicole, Genevieve and I threw our caps into the air, giggling like fools. It was incredible.

* * *

"Is this you?" Jake laughed, pointing at a picture on one of the collages.

"I remember that," Emmett teased, Ryan beside him, buckled over with laughter. "It was the first and last time Carlisle and Esme trusted Jasper and me to babysit her alone."

"I can see why," Seth chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Just wait until I get embarrassing pictures of you from Billy," I grumbled under my breath.

"That will never happen," Jake warned, pointing a finger at me. "My dad is loyal."

"Yes, but Rachel isn't," I smirked. Seth started laughing even harder.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" I heard Mom say. She was on the makeshift stage Emmett and Jasper put together. We really didn't need one, it was just the family. Everyone had some sort of heightened senses, which is why we had no use for a sound system.

"Over the past fifty-or-so years of being a mother, I have had the pleasure and honor of seeing my children graduate high school many times. For many of them, it has become a formality rather than a celebratory occasion. After all, many of them will continue to return to high school several times throughout their immortal lives. A few months ago, however, it hit me how important this occasion would be to my youngest, who would be graduating high school for the first time, next to the man she loves, nonetheless. For that reason, today is not a formality. Today is a celebration.

"For Danielle and Jacob, this is the start of a new chapter. In the fall, they will start not as high school students, but as college students obtaining their first degrees. They have gone through the tedious college decision process, just like any other high school senior. They have both earned spectacular grades and graduated with honors. Danielle and Jacob, this truly is an accomplishment to be proud of."

"Enough with the sappiness, it's time for the cake," we all heard Emmett whisper to Rosalie. Mom and Dad both shot him a look, but smiled afterwards.

"This is more for Jacob than anyone I presume, but with some help from Billy we were able to throw something together," Mom introduced as Alice brought out a huge cake, decorated with pictures of Jake and me from our childhood.

"Where did you get this?" I asked once I got a closer look at the cake. It was a proper baby picture of me, one that I never knew they had.

"Edward knows a guy," Bella teased.

"I guess my dad's a traitor after all," Jake noted, taking in his own baby pictures.

"You were a cute baby," I smiled. Between Billy and Rachel, I had seen plenty of baby pictures of Jacob.

"You were so little," Jake pointed out. "Please tell me you have more of these," Jake asked Edward.

"Of course," Edward winked.

"Hey!" I yelled at him. "I get to veto!"

"Not a chance," Edward and Jacob both said at the same time. Bella and I both had the same shocked expression on our face – we didn't think they would ever get to the point where they were speaking at the same time as one another.

"Creepy," I mumbled, turning back to the cake.

"I'll have to get some of my baby pictures," Ryan mused. "We look almost exactly alike as babies. Almost, of course, meaning that I had a much better complexion."

"I had a better attitude," I argued. "Make yourself useful and cut the cake," I smirked, handing him the knife. He rolled his eyes and began to cut, mumbling something about being reduced to serving dogs.

"Congratulations, baby," I nudged Jake. "Thank you for graduating with me."

"Always," he kissed my forehead. "Just promise me we're going to take another break after undergrad."

"As you wish," I promised him, interlocking my fingers with his.


End file.
